Miniature sukkah
Collection Overview
Miniature sukkah structure. Hand-made of wood and nails; two windows on both sides and a door with one step at front of structure. Roof is made of six wood slats. Contains dollhouse size furnishings including: oval rug, dining table and four chairs, sideboard, desk, shelves, bench with cushion, four ceramic and glass cup and saucer sets, two ceramic platters and a vase. Slatted roof is adorned with plastic fruit and flowers.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1925
Creator
- Sholk, Harry, 1890-1965 (Person)
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
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The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Biographical Note
Sukkot is the harvest festival of Judaism. The sukkah, a temporary hut built of branches and leaves, is the main feature of the festival. The origin of dwelling in sukkah during the festival is not certain; some believe the sukkah is a reminder that Jews live everywhere only temporarily, wandering eternally. The Sukkot celebration calls for living in sukkah for seven days; most people limit their activities to eating and study in the structure. Any lightweight material can be used to build the walls of a sukkah, and openings must be left in the roof to allow sight of the sun, moon and stars. In celebration of the harvest, the sukkah is decorated with fruits and vegetables. In the 1920s, the Sholk family lived at 438 King Street, Charleston, SC, above Harris Livingstain Hardware. Because the family had a tiny backyard, they did not have room to construct a traditional sukkah structure for the harvest festival. Harry Sholk built (ca. 1925) this miniature version for his daughter, Mary, when she was four years old. It was placed in the family dining room during Sukkot. The roof was covered with green pine needles in place of customary palm branches. Mary Sholk married Irvin "Dunny" Zalkin and had daughters Sally, Susan and Jane.
Extent
4.75 linear feet (2 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
No linguistic content; Not applicable
Acquisitions Information
Materials donated in 2002 by Harry Sholk.
- Title
- Inventory of the Miniature Sukkah, 1925
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Special Collections staff; finding aid created by: Special Collections staff
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
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Charleston South Carolina 29424
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(843) 953-6319 (Fax)