Torah Cover (?)

Artist Unknown

ca. 1600

Cloth embroidered with floral border, and four central panels, the top two with pitchers, vines, and flowers, and the bottom two with trees and ribbons with Hebrew text.
This intricately decorated textile, possibly used as a Torah cover, was produced in Prague around 1600. Four squares adorn its center, the top two containing vases ringed by flowers and vines and the bottom two adorned with additional plants encircled by banners containing Hebrew inscriptions. Additional vines and flowers in subdued shades of greens, blues, and reds stretch their delicate tendrils, spreading across, above, and below the textile’s central four squares.

Credits

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris L. Cohen / The Jewish Museum, New York.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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