How to Resist Flea Market Judaica

Perhaps because I make quilted Judaica - perhaps because I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who came to the US with zero possessions - when I see a Judaic object at a thrift shop or flea market I must fend off a powerful compulsion to adopt it. For many years, I rarely said "no." As a result, my home is exploding at the seams with Jewish objets.

Fortunately, one of the best ways to stiffen one's resistance to flea market finds is now at hand - the cell phone. I take pictures, and can thereby keep the object with me forever, but never need to dust it. 

This past Sunday, during my monthly pilgrimage to the Pasadena City College Flea Market (almost as big as the famed Rose Bowl Flea Market, but free!) I saw an unusual amount of Judaica. As is its wont, much of it is mysterious, so I welcome your enlightenment and/or speculation. 

First, there was this 2-3 foot tall horse's head menorah. (Try to ignore the copper pagoda and other tchotchkes in the background.)

The vendor speculated that it was a home craft project, but couldn't guess why someone would graft a horse's head onto a Hanukah lamp. Horses go with Hanukah like fish go with bicycles. Maybe it's a mob threat menorah? He told me the piece was from New York, and was willing to sell it to me for a mere $75. I resisted. I also resisted his nice Shabbat and holiday bread tray: 

It's oddly shaped - the upper right corner is cut out - not sure why. (UPDATE: Thank you to the reader who informed me that a wooden-handled bread knife is supposed to fit neatly into the slot, completing the wooden rectangle!)

At another booth, there was this wonderfully-aged statue of Moses halting traffic:

The statue - maybe 8" high - felt like lightweight plastic. The base was heavier, and it said the following. 

Isaac Jeheskel? When I got home I googled him and up came a world of silver-plated statuary. It sure felt like plastic. Isaac Jeheskel no longer seems to be in business, but an identical statue (except definitely silver) once sold on ebay for $40. So it's not like I lost a winning lottery ticket.

This dealer must have been at a Jewish estate sale, because he also had these nice silver candlesticks, with Jerusalem carved into them, mint in box. 

I already have way too many candlesticks, so that's how I talked myself out of those. 
For the Judaica collector who has everything, there was this: 

Open the doors, and voila, speaking of Moses - there they are, all ten commandments! (But abbreviated.)

After opening and shutting the doors a few times, though, I'm not sure what I would do with it. 
And finally, three pieces of Judaica that win the prize for "strangest placement in a display case." (If you are under 18, please avert your eyes):

On the lower left, there's a box on a pedestal - the vendor said it's a silver match holder for Shabbat. (I can read the Hebrew phonetically, but I have no idea what it's saying - let me know if you do.) To the right, there's a couple of plain kiddush cups? Candleholders? Above that, there's a lacy mezuzah. And directly above the match-holder, there's what appears to be a Persian miniature pendant showing two lovely ancient people about to, um, conceive slightly less ancient people. And just above that, two more people are doing the same, but in a more adventurous pose! 

I came home with no Judaica, and no erotica, but all these happy memories! Plus this tiny (1.5" high) Barbie wind-up sewing machine ($2). 

It works! When you turn the knob, the needle goes up and down and the silver wheel turns!