Pair of Torah finials. Augsburg, Germany, 1803.
Silver, cut, pierced and engraved (marked with standard marks from Augsburg with O = 1803, and maker's mark "CB" = Carl Bitzel [1749-1823], licensed from 1787); gilt.
The design of this pair of finials is characteristic of Augsburg in the first quarter of the 19th century; 10 other pairs of this type are known. The present pair is especially prominent in its size and abundant decorations. Its decorations include a row of bell hangers stylized as alternating lion and human heads (with a pair of fish at the base of the head); additional bell hangers stylized as lion heads (in the central row); and rampant crowned lions holding branches (on the third row). At the top of each finial is a crown-like ornament topped by a rampant crowned lion, holding a shield captioned: "Length of days is in its right hand; in its left hand are riches and honor".
Height: 43 cm. Width: 10 cm. Weight: 1834 g. Overall good condition. One finial slightly skewed. Old soldering repairs near leg joints. Minor fractures and old soldering repairs to some decorations joining rows and decorations serving as bell hangers. Slight corrosion to upper decorations.
A pair of finials with a similar design is located in the Jewish Museum in New York (F3919, Grafman no. 270). For further information and comparison, see: Chaya Benjamin, The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces in Jewish Art (Israel Museum Press, 1987), no. 14; Rafi Grafman, Crowning Glory: Silver Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum, New York (New York, 1996), nos. 269-272.
