Shabbat and Jewish holiday meals begin with a blessing over a cup of wine placed in a special glass or cup, called a Kiddush cup.
A silver Kiddush cup in the Museum’s collection was a present to Richard Oppenheimer from J. Meyerhof, his maternal great-grandfather, probably for his circumcision. The cup, with three pastoral scenes in bas relief surrounded by engraving of vines, has an inscription in German on the rim: “Richard Oppenheimer von seinem Urgrossvater J. Meyerhof den 21 t Maerz 1863“.
March 21, 1863, the date on the cup, is Richard Oppenheimer’s birth date.
In 1936, Richard Oppenheimer and his family emigrated from Hanover, Germany to Chile; the Nazis allowed them to take furniture and household articles, including this treasured family heirloom.
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