Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Torah Ark Curtain (Israel)
Each of the four-sided shapes on Siona Shimshi’s Torah ark curtain represents a Jewish holiday, except for the one at left (second from top) with an image of hands arranged for a priestly blessing…
Torah Ark Curtain from Woman's Dress
This sumptuous velvet and gilt-metal-thread embroidered Torah ark curtain most likely began its life as the wedding gown of a well-to-do Jewish woman of the Ottoman Empire. It was unstitched and…
Torah Finials (Kerala)
These silver, crown-shaped Torah finials engraved with an okra floral motif are from the Paradesi Synagogue in Kerala, India. A Hebrew inscription (divided into four parts) reads: “The honorable R…
Torah Finials (Iraq)
These gilt-silver finials—which bear the Hebrew calendar year of 5502 (1742)—are considered the earliest dated finials from Iraq. On top of each finial is a miniature ḥamsa, a charm in the shape of a…
Torah Finials (Corfu)
These silver Torah finials are from Corfu and were made between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, by an artist whose initials were A.Z. They were used in the Scuola Greca Synagogue, which…
Torah Finials (Cochin)
These Torah finials from Cochin, India, were made around 1565. Elegant and simple, crafted from metal, their surfaces appear to be hammered, with one adorned with a Hebrew inscription. The earliest…
Torah Finials (Iran)
These small Torah finials, decorated with silver repoussé and dark and light blue enamel, originated in Persia. They are further adorned with slender flowers and graceful geometric patterns.
Torah Finials (New York)
These silver Torah finials with bells adorned a Torah scroll at the consecration ceremony of the Mill Street Synagogue of Congregation Shearith Israel, which opened in New York in 1730 and was located…
Torah Finials (London)
These richly decorated Torah finials (rimonim), cast in silver and partly gilt, and adorned with many bells and topped with crowns, were created in London. The non-Jewish silversmith William Spackman…
Torah Finial (Amsterdam)
This belled gilt-silver Torah finial topped with a crown was made in Amsterdam and has been attributed to master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for…
Torah Finials (Amsterdam)
These gilt-silver Torah finials were made in Amsterdam by master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for the Jewish ceremonial objects he crafted. Cast…
Torah Finials (Amsterdam)
These belled, gilt-silver Torah finials topped with crowns were made in Amsterdam by master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for the Jewish ceremonial…