Pair of Torah finials. London, England, 1722, probably by Abraham Lopes de Oliveyra or William Spackman. Dedicatory inscription [to the Great Synagogue of London] dated 5515 [1755].
Silver, cast, repoussé, stamped and engraved (one finial marked with a worn fineness mark, apparently the Britannia standard, and with a London date letter – G = 1722; several later bells marked with the maker's mark AB, probably Abraham Benelisha, London, ca. 1910); parcel-gilt.
Each finial surmounted by a crown-shaped parcel-gilt ornament with three arms, centered by a silver orb. A vase-shaped ornament separates the upper crown from the finial body, which is formed of two flattened, pear-shaped globes, decorated with smooth bands and with repoussé bands of bellflowers.
Three rows of six stylized hooks are soldered to the vase ornaments and to the finial bodies, with parcel-gilt bells suspended from dedicated rings on the upper and lower hooks. An additional ornament in the form of a chain of silver beads is soldered to the central hooks.
The finials stand on hollow cylindrical stems, decorated with parcel-gilt vegetal patterns echoing those on the finial bodies. Identical dedication inscriptions are engraved on the stems: "This was donated by R. Yosef David son of R. Baruch / Bendt Bloch, of blessed memory, in the year 5515" (on one stem, part of the inscription is slightly worn). Both stems are marked with the Hebrew letter gimel (engraved at the center of the dedication inscription) and also bear an additional ornament or monogram (worn).
The name of David son of Benedict (Baruch) Bloch, who donated the present finials, appears in Cecil Roth's study documenting the membership of the Great Synagogue of London from ca. 1708 to 1750 (see below, Roth, 1962), where the full name of his father, Benedict (Baruch) son of Solomon Bloch, is also recorded. The father's name is likewise documented in the records of the Chevra Kadisha of the Ashkenazi community of London (founded 1695/6), where he is listed as serving as Gabai in 1708, as well as in connection with the new synagogue building in 1722 (see Cecil Roth, The Great Synagogue, below; Roth's book also records a Shochet named Baruch Benedict, who may be the same individual).
The Great Synagogue served the Ashkenazi community of London for centuries, and was the first Ashkenazi synagogue established in the city following the readmission of Jews to England in the 17th century. It was first inaugurated in 1690, rebuilt and enlarged in 1722, 1766 and 1790, and was ultimately destroyed in May 1941 during the German Blitz in World War II.
London-made Torah finials from the first half of the 18th century are exceedingly rare. Of all pairs known today – fewer than twenty in total – most are preserved in museum collections. The documented finials from this period were produced by five silversmiths: Samuel Wastell (one pair), Gabriel Sleath (one pair), Richard Edwards (one pair, identification uncertain), William Spackman (three pairs), and Abraham Lopes de Oliveyra (approx. eleven pairs).
Among the documented finials by these makers, the present pair shows the closest affinities to finials made by de Oliveyra, although certain decorative elements – such as the beaded chains and the bellflower motifs – also appear on finials made by William Spackman (for comparison, see: Israel Museum Collection, item B13.0555(a-b); Rickie Burman et al., Treasures of Jewish Heritage: The Jewish Museum London, London: Scala, 2006, p. 79).
Abraham Lopes de Oliveyra (also, de Oliveira) – stemming from a Marrano family of Portuguese origin – was born in Amsterdam in 1657 and died in London in 1750. He was the first Jewish silversmith active in London and, throughout his career, the only Jewish silversmith working in England. In his early years in London, de Oliveyra was employed in cleaning and repairing silver objects and utensils for the Spanish-Portuguese synagogue on Creechurch Lane (which later became the Bevis Marks synagogue), until he received official authorization to use a hallmark and to produce silver in his own workshop. Among his Judaica works are approximately eleven pairs of Torah finials made in the 1720s-1730s for synagogues of the Jewish communities of London, one or two Torah pointers, two Sabbath lamps, and a small number of other objects, most of which – apart from a few exceptions – are now preserved in the collection of the Jewish Museum, London, and in other museum collections.
Height: 33.5 cm. Maximum width: 12.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor bends and warping, partly professionally restored. Breaks to several central hooks, with small losses; some professionally restored. Missing hooks replaced with new ones on upper vase ornaments. Some bells are later replacements; one bell missing from lower suspension hook. Possibly, bells missing from central suspension hooks. The finials are composed of three parts: upper crown ornament (screw-mounted), finial body with upper vase ornament soldered to it, and stem (also screw-mounted). Possibly, the upper ornament was originally screw-mounted. Finials' bodies appear to have been damaged near junction with stem, where worn silver marks are located, and silver marks were abraded during restoration.
Provenance:
• The Great Synagogue, London.
• The Central Synagogue (Great Portland Street), London.
• Sotheby's, New York, June 5, 2019, Lot 2.
Reference:
• Cecil Roth, The Great Synagogue, London, 1690-1940 (published by E. Goldston, London, 1950), online version (2003), pp. 17, 29, 61.
• Cecil Roth, "The Membership of the Great Synagogue, London, to 1791", Miscellanies (Jewish Historical Society of England, London), 6 (1962), pp. 177 (no. 19), 181, 184.
• A.G. Grimwade, "Anglo-Jewish Silver", Transactions (Jewish Historical Society of England, London), 18 (1953-1955), pp. 113-125.
