The Montefiore Testimonial (1842–43). Silver testimonial by Mortimer & Hunt, designed by Sir George Hayter and sculpted by Edward Hodges Baily. Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Be Strong and Take Action: The Montefiore Testimonial (1842-3) and Anglo-Jewish Imperial Identities
This talk explores The Montefiore Testimonial (1842-3), a monumental silver sculpture to commemorate Sir Moses Montefiore’s role in securing the release of several Ottoman Syrian Jews falsely accused of blood libel during the Damascus Affair of 1840. Through its rich biblical imagery, this object reveals the tensions at the heart of Victorian Anglo-Jewish life, challenging assumptions of straightforward loyalty to the British Empire in the pursuit of emancipation and assimilation. By reading the object through Jewish interpretive traditions, the talk uncovers how biblical narratives shaped both Jewish and Victorian understandings of empire, identity, and belonging.
Dr Maddie Hewitson is an art historian of nineteenth-century Britain and its empire. She is currently a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow in the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies at the University of Birmingham (UK), and a Sir William Dobell Visiting Fellow at Australian National University in Spring 2026.
Location
Seminar Room 2.02, Sir Roland Wilson Building (McCoy Circuit, Acton)
Event series
Contacts
- ANU School of Art & Design