Torah Ark Curtain
Artist Unknown
Late 18th–Early 19th Century
Image
This Torah ark curtain from Gördes, Turkey, features an archway flanked on either side with double columns and a hanging lamp, a motif common to both Islamic prayer rugs and mats and Ottoman Torah ark curtains. One theory is that the design was brought to the Ottoman Empire by Jewish weavers fleeing Spain in the fifteenth century. In Islamic iconography, the lamp symbolizes God’s radiance. For Jews, the lamp represents the “eternal light” suspended in front of the Torah ark in synagogues.
Credits
The Jewish Museum, New York. Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.
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