Ornament for Torah scroll, created by silversmith L. J. Limburg. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, [early decades of 20th century, prior to 1945].
Silver, cast, cut, pierced, sawed, and engraved (marked with fineness mark, the letters "LL" and underneath, the digit 5 inside a square frame = L.J. Limburg, active in Amsterdam in years 1900-1945).
Torah ornament with a unique structure and design, with no known counterparts. Designed in form of a broad, oval-shaped crown, with no protruding upper portion (atarah), and with a tall base and broad, flat upper surface adorned with vegetal patterns. Attached to the front is a pair of ornaments sawed by hand, one depicting the Table of the Showbread, and the other representing the seven-branched Menorah. The ornaments bear inscriptions (Hebrew, both from Proverbs 3:16) engraved onto an accompanying pair of ornaments shaped like cloth ribbons: "In her left hand are riches and honor" and "Length of days is in her right hand".
Seven pendants shaped like leafy wreaths dangle from the bottom edges. The entire crown consists of four units identical in size, which are movable thanks to a combination of tracks, slots, and pins. At the center of the upper surface is a broad, rectangular opening that can be widened or narrowed.
Height: 8.5 cm. Width: 34.5 cm. Depth: 26 cm. Overall good condition. One pendant missing. Two pendants partly disconnected, and with broken edges. Strip missing from ornament shaped like Table of the Showbread. Minor blemishes.
Reference: Maker's marks of Dutch gold- and silversmiths (1981), no. 7564
