Torah shield, Germany, probably Kitzingen, [ca. 1720], inscription dated 5482 [1722].

Silver, cast, repoussé, and engraved (marked with two marks: the letter K in an oval frame, probably for Kitzingen, Germany; and a mark in the form of a turkey facing leftward, also in an oval frame, apparently the maker’s mark of silversmith Johann Ludwig Langenhan).

A rare and unique Torah shield resembling in design Torah shields from Nuremberg, but with several markedly unique features.

The shield as a whole is square-shaped, but with three arches on top. The margins are repoussé in a recurrent pattern, and all the other decorative elements are attached with screws. These ornaments include: At the top, a large crown-shaped ornament protruding forward, flanked on either side by a pair of large, rampant deer; a two-headed eagle, flanked by vegetal ornaments; a pair of spiraling architectonic columns each surmounted by a small crown, also protruding forward, and supported on large square pedestals each bearing a floral decoration; and a pair of figures standing atop the columns’ pedestals, specifically, on the right, Moses, holding up the Two Tablets of the Law, engraved with the abbreviated Ten Commandments, and, on the left, King David, wearing a crown and grasping a harp. At center, toward the bottom and between the pair of columns, is a rectangular compartment for interchangeable plaques, equipped with a large hinged cover, opening downward (no plaques included). Just above the bottom margin is a cartouche engraved with an inscription (I Samuel 15:1) alluding to the year the shield was created:
"Then came the Lord unto / Samuel / saying… [the numerological equivalent of Hebrew year 5482 = 1722] / […]".

A strikingly similar Torah shield dated 1777 has been documented by Theodor Harburger, "Die Inventarisation jüdischer Kunst – und Kulturdenkmäler in Bayern", Schweinfurt, Germany, 1929, cited in an exhibition catalogue of the Jewish Museum of Franconia, Fürth, Germany, 1998, p. 703 (P160-428). Harburger believes that the shield documented in this source originates from Kitzingen, but it should be pointed out that silver marks very similar to those that appear on the present Torah shield were in use in Ilmenau, Germany at the time (see Marc Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, Frankfurt A.M.: Frankfurter Verlags, 1922, nos. 2573, 2575).

Height: 26 cm. Width: 23 cm. Fair-good condition. Loose screw joints. Several nuts missing. Minor warping and fractures to edges. Old soldering repairs. One bell not original. Two bells missing clappers.

Provenance: Sotheby’s, Tel Aviv, April 6, 1994, Lot 147; Sotheby’s, New York, December 4, 2014, Lot 169.

Torah shield, by Johann Friedrich Ehe. Nuremberg, Germany, 1783-1787.

Silver, cast, stamped, repoussé and engraved (marked with the Nuremberg city mark – the letter N, date letter F for 1783-1787, and maker's mark IF/E in a trilobed, clover-like frame).

Designed in the typical Nuremberg style: a prominent crown projects from the top; in the center, a pair of spiral columns – also projecting forward – rest on square bases with rounded fronts, surmounted by rampant lions. Between the columns appears a Tablets of the Law motif; below it, a rectangular slot for interchangeable plaques (plaques missing). Three bells suspended from rings at the bottom; one additional bell set into the crown at the top (all bells original). Original suspension chain.

Later commemorative inscriptions engraved on the shield and bases of the columns:
"May G-d remember the souls / of the six million holy martyrs who perished sanctifying His name / in the Holocaust at the hands of the accursed Nazi oppressors… A gift from Israel Yitzchak and his wife Fraida Gittel Wahrmann / Reizel, Chaim Shimon, Moshe Wahrmann".

Johann Friedrich Ehe – master silversmith from 1773 until his death in 1808 – produced numerous Judaica items, including Kiddush cups, spiceboxes, and Torah pointers. Two other Torah shields created by him are held in the Jewish Museum, New York; see: Rafi Grafman, Crowning Glory: Silver Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum, New York (New York, 1996), nos. 23-24.

Height: 27 cm. Width: 20.5 cm. Overall good condition. Bends and minor breaks to edges. Several nuts missing on reverse. Interchangeable plaques missing.

Torah shield, by Franz Kaltenmarker. Brno, Moravia (today, Czech Republic), ca. 1815.

Silver, cut, repoussé, and engraved (marked with fineness mark from Brno, with faded year marking, from 1810-1819; Brno tax mark, in use from 1810 to 1824; and maker’s mark: the initials FK [= Franz Kaltenmarker] in an oval frame); gemstones (carnelian or jasper); colored glass beads.

At the top of the shield is a large crown inlaid with colored glass beads. Underneath this are the Two Tablets of the Law, inscribed in Hebrew with the (abbreviated) Ten Commandments. The Tablets are enclosed within a wreath of leafy branches with flowers and are flanked by a pair of rampant lions. At the center of the shield is a rectangular compartment for interchangeable plaques (enclosed are four plaques, three of them double-sided). Under the compartment is a vase filled with flowers flanked by vegetal patterns, and by the figures of Moses and Aaron the Priest, the former holding in his hands the Tablets of the Law and a staff, and the latter holding an incense burner. Five red gemstones are symmetrically inlaid into the surface of the shield. Original suspension chain.

Of all the documented Torah shields created by this silversmith (three belonging to the Jewish Museum, Prague, and one in a private collection in Vienna) this is the only one known to be adorned with gemstones.

This Torah shield is documented in an article by Sándor Wolf, "Die Kunst im Eisenstädter Ghetto" ("Art in the Jewish Ghetto of Eisenstadt"), Budapest, 1912 (originally published in Hungarian in the periodical "Mult és Jövö"), Fig. 26, p. 269. The Torah shield is documented there alongside a pair of Torah finials, a Torah pointer, and a Hanukkah lamp, all from the Wertheimer-féle synagogue of the Eisenstadt Ghetto, the historical Jewish quarter of Eisenstadt, Austria.

Height: 33 cm. Width: 26.5 cm. Overall good condition. Two gemstones missing (similarly missing in the 1912 photo of the Torah shield).

Provenance: Kedem, Auction 35, January 29, 2014, Lot 47.

Torah shield. Poland, [possibly Lublin, middle of 19th century or somewhat earlier].

Silver, cast and engraved (marked with maker’s mark, J. / L. Frydman, silversmith, and with fineness mark, 14); filigree; gilt.

Slightly convex Torah shield consisting of a silver plate to which various ornaments – either cast or filigree – are attached with rivets and screws. These include: A large crown-shaped ornament protruding forward at the top of the shield; a pair of architectonic columns each surmounted by a combination of a rampant deer and a large bird perched atop a tree limb, flanking the crown on either side; beneath the crown, an ornament in the form of the Two Tablets of the Law, engraved with the abbreviated Ten Commandments; an ornament representing a Torah ark, with its door opening to reveal a tiny Torah scroll inside; another pair of large birds each perched atop a tree limb (in this case with flowers), in turn surmounting another pair of rampant deer, just above the bottom of the shield. At bottom center is an oval-shaped medallion bearing a depiction of a leviathan-like monster (seemingly half-whale, half-serpent) with its tail in its mouth. Beneath the two columns are decorated rectangular labels bearing the (Hebrew) inscriptions "Yakhin" (misspelled) and "Boaz". Three heart-shaped pendants are suspended from the bottom edge of the shield, each engraved with a name, together comprising the Hebrew inscription
"Yitzhak son of Shaul".

Height: 23 cm. Width: 16 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Minor warping and slight fissures. Fracture to one of the crown’s arches. Old soldering repairs on back. Missing nuts and bolts. Missing chain.

For comparison, see: Rafi Grafman, Crowning Glory: Silver Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum, New York, NY, 1996, nos. 189-92, 200, 203; Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item 148/163, B50.02.0383.

Provenance: Kedem, Auction 39, July 16, 2014, Lot 68.

Pair of Torah finials by Reyndert Ringnalda. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, [1770s].

Silver, cast, repoussé, and pierced. Marked with the Amsterdam city mark, Amsterdam fineness mark, and the silversmith’s mark RR (Reyndert Ringnalda); later mark M2, probably a Dutch assayer mark. 

Each finial features a hexagonal tower-shaped body composed of two tiers, each surrounded by balconies, and surmounted by a parcel-gilt crown. Each of the sides is decorated with vegetal motifs and Rococo-style shell ornaments, with a central window featuring a gilt bell. Each finial is assembled from six individual sections set around a central rod mounted on a stem.

No other Judaica items by this silversmith are currently known. His known silverwork, which consists primarily of tableware, is dated to the 1770s through 1780. For further information, see: Citroen, Amsterdam Silversmiths and their Marks (1975), no. 795.

Height: 37.5 cm. Max. width: 11.5 cm. Good condition. Some of the bells may be later.