Torah scroll case. Iraq, dedication dated 1900 for a man who passed away in 1898.
Wood; silver sheets, repoussé and engraved; ink and paint on paper; cotton fabric; plastic beads; without Torah scroll.
Case shaped in characteristic style of Iraqi Torah scrolls, topped by a pear-shaped dome from which extend chains with bells. Coated with a large, smooth silver sheet; the dome is also smooth and segmented with thin decorative strips. A crown with a repeating vegetal pattern surrounds the dome, incorporating orange plastic beads.
Although its form is in characteristic Iraqi style, the decoration of the present case is uncommon, as other cases are generally decorated with small repoussé silver plates on velvet (see previous lot), or decorated with large silver sheets with rich repoussé designs or (see next lot) and are not smooth.
Two strips of text are shaped out at the top and bottom of the case, with a dedicatory inscription:
"This case and the Torah scroll in it are dedicated in memory of the dear Yechezkel Yitzchak Shlomo Binyamin, [1900], providing that the owners are permitted to take it out and put it in any other place that they want".
A verse (Devarim 4:44) and another dedicatory inscription appear on the interior of the case, shaped into the silver:
"This case and the Torah scroll in it are in memory of the dear Yechezkel Yitzchak Shlomo Binyamin, [1900], passed away in London, 24th of the month of / Menachem [Av] 1898".
An Iraqi finial bearing an inscription in memory of Yechezkel Yitzchak Shlomo Binyamin was auctioned by Kedem, Auction 57, 12 September 2017, Lot 418.
Height: 85 cm. Diameter: 24.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor defects, warping and scratches. Minor fractures and warping to edges of silver sheets with dedicatory inscriptions. Orange bead decorations lacking. One clasp broken and lacking. Minor defects to interior, on fabric and wood. Glass coverings of interior silver plates may be lacking.
