Souvenirs from the Sea

The collection of the Jewish Museum in Prague also contains a small and rather curious group of objects in the form of sea snail shells with etched inscriptions in Hebrew. This is evidence of an interesting cultural phenomenon that emerged in what was then Palestine at the very beginning of the twentieth century, probably continuing for the next 30 or so years. These inscribed shells also appear in other Judaica collections, as well in specialized auctions, which suggests that this was indeed a mass phenomenon.