Silver filigree mezuzah case from Yemen

The mezuzah case is the housing affixed to the right doorpost of a Jewish home, protecting a small parchment scroll (the mezuzah proper) on which the first two paragraphs of the Shema are written, in accordance with the biblical commandment. The case houses and signals the parchment while also adorning it. In Yemen, these silver cases are distinguished by dense filigree and fine granulation, hallmarks of local Jewish silversmithing, sometimes openwork to reveal the divine name Shaddai. The quintessential object of the threshold, the mezuzah and its case mark the Jewish identity of the home and recall the divine presence at every entry and exit.