The Shlomo Gabbay Collection of Judaean Coins and Weights

Shlomo Gabbay

Shlomo was born in Basra, Iraq, son of Joseph Elias Gabbay (aide-de-camp to King Faisal I and vice-president of the General Assembly of Iraq). After the death of his father in 1927, he emigrated with his mother and siblings to Palestine, where he was educated at the Scottish College in Safed. He served in the British Army during the Mandate, subsequently qualifying as an advocate in law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

After establishing himself as a well-known lawyer in the 1950s, he began to cultivate his interests in archaeology in the 1960s, gradually developing an impressive collection of antiquities including coins, ancient pottery and glass which he acquired through various dealers including Yaakov Meshorer, Moussaiff, and Zadok and Sons. After the Six Day War in 1967, Shlomo frequented the old City of Jerusalem, establishing close links with antique dealers including Abu Eid, Barakat, and Dajani. He developed a particular interest in ancient Judaean and Islamic weights which he passionately researched and studied in detail.

After Shlomo retired in 1975 he moved to England with his wife and daughters. Before leaving Israel he sold his collection of antique pottery and glass, but kept his precious weights collection and coins, most of which were auctioned in the 1980s in Germany. He died in London in 1995.

The remainder of the collection is now brought to auction at Noonans by his daughters.