Showing Results 11 - 20 of 166
Although few examples of the work of embroiderer Jacob Koppel Gans remain, he is best known for this Torah ark curtain and valance, dating to 1772 or 1773, made of velvet and embroidered with metallic…
The purpose of the Torah crown is visually to augment the status of the Torah scroll, emphasizing its importance and centrality to Jewish life. These magnificent silver ornaments are placed over the…
For German Jews, it was traditional in the wedding ceremony for the groom to perform the ritual of breaking a glass in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple by hurling it or banging it against…
The use of wall niches for Torah scrolls was a feature of some of the earliest synagogues and continues today in Mizrahi communities. This striking faience-tile mosaic structure would have decorated a…
This Torah ark, installed in a synagogue in the Italian town of Urbino, is a fine example of Renaissance Judaica. Carved from walnut in the early sixteenth century, the ark belonged to the Sephardic…
Home to a Jewish community from at least the thirteenth century, Pesaro later became the refuge of Portuguese and Spanish Jews in the sixteenth century. In 1642, a few years after the town’s Jews were…
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…
This Hanukkah lamp from Poland is made from brass and would likely have been placed near the Torah ark in a synagogue. An engraved and cast eagle sits above a domed cupola, representing gratitude and…
This copper Torah crown was made in Bolzano, Italy. An excellent repoussé piece, its delicate pierced and traced decorations are adorned with floral arrangements of leaves and vines. The shape of this…
This Torah shield was cast in silver in Hamburg, Germany. Partly gilt and adorned with precious stones, four crowns sit at its center, framed by symmetrical columns on either side that are encircled…
