Portrait of Samson Wertheimer

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.

In 1832, after the French conquest of Algeria, French artist Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) traveled to North Africa, creating a series of paintings and drawings that exoticized scenes of daily life in…

This silver Torah pointer from Poland is inscribed in Hebrew: “The hand [i.e., pointer] of Joseph Halevi, crowned with success, donated in the name of his son Abraham on the eve of R[osh] H[ashanah]…