Pair of Torah finials. [Afghanistan], dedicatory inscription dated 1936.

Silver, cast, cut and engraved (unmarked); chiselwork.

Finials with spherical body and openings shaped as inverted heart, with bells located within. Decorated with vegetal and geometrical patterns, and with medallions depicting the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock. Dedicatory inscriptions engraved in medallions:
"Dedicated to the synagogue; belong to me, / the upstanding Yitzchak son of R. Mordechai" and
"the young man Yitzchak son of R. Mordechai, 1936" (Hebrew). The bells are decorated in patterns similar to those of the finials, with a Star of David and the inscription "Torah Crown", standing on a stylized base with a Star of David with the words "Shield of David" engraved in its center.

For Afghan Torah finials of similar design, dated 1935, see: Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 9671.

Height: 32.5 cm. Width: 10.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor defects. Old soldering repairs to upper decorations.

Torah pointer. Baku, Azerbaijan, dedicatory inscription dated Kislev 5688 [1927].

Silver, cast and engraved (unmarked).

Unique structure comprising three segments shaped as fish, joined with round medallions, bearing dedicatory inscriptions (see Hebrew description). The name of the city of Baku appears in Cyrillic script.

Length: 30 cm. Good condition.

Torah shield. Russian Empire [presumably Moscow], 1902.

Silver, repoussé, stamped and engraved (marked with fineness mark, maker’s mark in Cyrillic – Г.Ш., and date mark "1902").

The upper section of the shield features a double-headed eagle (imperial Russian emblem), surmounted by a crown inscribed Keter Kehunah (Crown of Priesthood), and below it a pair of priestly hands in the gesture of Birkat Kohanim, above an Ark with hinged double doors enclosing the Tablets of the Law (engraved with the Ten Commandments), flanked by two lions rampant. The border is adorned with architectural columns entwined with serpents, each topped with a large bird. Additional decorative elements include vegetal motifs with oak branches and acorns. Below the Ark is a rectangular compartment for interchangeable plaques (four double-sided plaques included).

The front of the shield is richly polychromed in red, blue, green, gold, and silver.

Height: 30.5 cm. Width: 25.5 cm. Good condition. Without suspension chain.

Torah shield. Dedicatory inscription from Briceva, Bessarabia (today Moldova), 1886.

Silver, repoussé and engraved (marked with Russian Empire hallmarks: double-headed eagle, date 1886, fineness mark "84", and maker’s mark ЛM in a rectangular frame).

At its center appear the Tablets of the Law (engraved with the Ten Commandments), supported by a pair of rampant, hissing lions. Above the tablets is a crown, surrounded by vegetal motifs. Three medallions and a ribbon-shaped ornament at the lower third bear a dedication inscription:

"Eliezer Litman son of Yitzchak… passed away on 7 Nisan 5645 / in Brichiva / Sheindel Chana daughter of Moshe Avraham" (Hebrew).

Torah crown. [Rhodes, Greece], dedication dated 1853.

Silver, sawed, pierced, engraved and soldered (unmarked; name of silversmith Demetrid (?) Cromida engraved on central bar).

Cylindrical crown decorated with repeating vegetal and wave patterns. Dedicatory inscription engraved on base:
"Gift to the Kahal Kadosh Gadol from Mrs. Perla de Shmuel Bin-Nun in memory of her son Rachamim who passed away 28th Av 5613 [1853]" (Hebrew). On interior base of crown, soldered silver bar with two openings for Torah scroll handles, with engraved inscription
"Lavoro Di Demetrid (?) Cromida 1858" [work of Demetrid/Demetrio Cromida 1858].

Torah crowns of this design were influenced by Italian Torah crowns (see previous lot) and were in use in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and the Balkans region. Its inscription, as well as its resemblance to another Torah crown in the Jewish Museum of New York collection (1992-94), indicate its origin in the Romaniote synagogue Kahal Kadosh Gadol, established in the late 15th century and inadvertently destroyed in a British bombing in 1944.

For comparison, see: Rafi Grafman, Crowning Glory: Silver Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum, New York (New York, 1996), no. 500 (illustrated on the cover) and no. 245.

Height: 17.5 cm. Diameter: 21.5 to 22.5 cm. Overall good condition. Fractures and minor defects to edges, with old corrections of soldering.