Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Displaying 13 - 17 of 17
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_1.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_3.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_4.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_5.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_6.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
![Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and eng](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/34_7.jpg "Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century")
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $4,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and engraved (unmarked).
Large, massive Torah finials, resembling Italian Torah finials in both their style and dimensions. In form of three-tiered hexagonal towers, tapering upward. The uppermost tiers are capped with domes adorned with a vegetal pattern and surmounted by ornate hexagonal ornaments. Six fancy columns (pilasters) extend from each of the six corners of each tier, and the three tiers are bordered above and below by sets of railings. The joint connecting the body and shaft of each finial consists of a large, flattened spherical knob adorned with vegetal patterns and six cartouches engraved with dedicatory inscriptions (Hebrew):
"Committed is the notable one / mentioned below that he not / have permission to sell or offer as collateral, neither he / nor his descendants for all time / but he may bring them to whichever // synagogue [misspelled Hebrew] he wishes, / and if he goes / to the Land of Israel he may take them / with him, and no one / shall have the power / to claim he had consecrated them to Heaven".
Finials supported by unusually tall cylindrical shafts (more recent) with broad, dome-shaped bases.
Height: 57 cm. Maximal width: 12.5 cm. Fair condition. Chains and bells mostly missing (a single bell and remnants of a chain remain in place). Ornament missing from top of one corner column, and strip of metal missing from the uppermost hexagonal ornament of one finial. Shafts not original, but existing shafts apparently put in place sometime in the 19th century, or early 20th century at the latest. Somewhat loose connections and screw joints.
Category
Torah Ornaments
Catalogue Value
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_1.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_2.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_3.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_4.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_5.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
![Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unm](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale104/35_6.jpg "Small Torah Crown Set with Colored Glass Stones – Eastern Europe, 19th")
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $2,750
Including buyer's premium
Torah crown. [Eastern Europe, presumably Poland, first half of the 19th century].
Silver, cut and repoussé (unmarked); silver, cast; parcel-gilt; glass stones.
The crown comprises six arms, surmounted by a smaller crown also with six arms, topped with a spherical finial and a bird. Between the arms of the lower crown are long, curved leaf-shaped ornaments, each terminating in a bird holding a bell in its beak.
The crown is set on a tall base adorned with four cast figures: a leopard, an eagle, a deer, and a lion, alongside inscriptions reading: "Bold as a leopard", "Light as an eagle", "Swift as a deer" and "Mighty as a lion" (Avot 5:20). Thirteen colored glass stones are set in the base, and ten additional stones are set into the arms. One of the arms differs slightly in design and is not adorned with stones.
Height: 21.5 cm. Diameter of base: 12.5 cm. Max. width: 19 cm. Overall good condition. Three bells missing. Slight bending and warping. Several holes. Six to eight stones missing. One arm not original. The animal appliqués may be later additions.
Category
Torah Ornaments
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $7,500
Including buyer's premium
Pair of Torah crowns. Vienna, 1861, 1868, both created by V. Mayer (possibly Vincenz Mayer), silversmith, and bearing dedicatory inscriptions to the Hebrew Congregation of Craiova, Romania.
Two Torah crowns, both crafted from cut silver, with repoussé and engraved decoration. The crowns are of closely related design, each composed of a circular or oval base surmounted by a single arch, and both adorned with vegetal motifs. Minor variations, however, can be discerned in the ornamental patterns of the two.
1. Marked with Viennese fineness mark dated 1861, and with maker’s mark, "Mayer".
Dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) engraved inside a cartouche, near the base:
"Donation of distinguished members of the Holy Congregation of Craiova; made in the time of the Gabaim of the time, R. Moshe de Mayo and R. Yehudah Mordechai Ashkenazi, 5620 [1860]".
"Donation of distinguished members of the Holy Congregation of Craiova; made in the time of the Gabaim of the time, R. Moshe de Mayo and R. Yehudah Mordechai Ashkenazi, 5620 [1860]".
Height: 29 cm. Diameter at base: 19-19.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping and distortion. Four small perforations, and fractures and old soldering repairs to arch. Two small rings soldered onto interior, near base.
2. Marked with Austro-Hungarian fineness mark in use from 1866, and with maker’s mark, "V. Mayer".
Dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) engraved on one of the decorative elements at the upper edge:
"Donation of the wealthy Yitzchak son of Yosef, to the Holy Congregation of Craiova… 5628 [1868]".
"Donation of the wealthy Yitzchak son of Yosef, to the Holy Congregation of Craiova… 5628 [1868]".
Height: 28 cm. Diameter at base: 18-20 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping and distortion. Slight fractures to arch and base.
Category
Torah Ornaments
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
Unsold
Large Torah crown. Austria-Hungary, possibly Bratislava (Pressburg, today capital of Slovakia) or Vienna, [late 19th or early 20th century].
Silver, cut, repoussé, punched, and stamped (marked with Austro-Hungarian fineness marks in use from 1886 to 1922; arches marked with maker’s mark SB; base also marked "Bernauer S."); gilt.
Unusually large Torah crown, with eight arches and a fancy dome on top, all bearing vegetal patterns. Broad oval-shaped base, equipped at center with a pair of tall, broad dedicated cylinders to be fitted over the wooden handles of the Torah scroll. On the perimeter surface of the base are a dozen delicate flower-shaped ornaments with rectangular frames at their centers, which had previously housed glass beads (now missing).
Height: 35 cm. Maximal width: 39X34 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping. Glass beads missing. Bells missing from each of the 8 arches. Small flower-shaped ornament missing from base. Apparently also missing ornament at top or bell at center.
Category
Torah Ornaments
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $9,375
Including buyer's premium
Large Torah crown by silversmith Moshe son of Sa'id. Algeria, likely Constantine. Inscription dated 1886.
Silver, cast and engraved (unmarked).
A large, heavy crown intended for a Torah case. Composed of 13 articulated silver segments, joined with pins and hinges. Twelve of the segments are identically designed, while one – divided into two halves and serving as the clasp – is slightly different.
Each segment is adorned with cast appliques: pointed arches with trefoil motifs, framing a flowerpot with blooming flowers; surmounted by a balustrade-like ornament and a grille-like element with symmetrical vegetal design. The clasp segment features engraved inscriptions in place of the flowerpot motif, and two flower-shaped ornaments affixed at the base of the arch.
A long dedicatory inscription, engraved and partly repoussé, spans the full width of the crown:
"… This crown for a Torah scroll / was made by the gizbbarim / of the synagogue of / R. Nathan Toubiani… Nissim Nakash… Moshe son of Sa'id… Shlomo Doukhan… Mordechai Malchi… Chaim Tzabach and his sons Yitzchak Tzabach / and Avraham Hasson and David son of Sa'id…".
The left clasp is engraved with the maker's signature: "Crafted by the artisan R. Moshe son of Sa'id… 1886, Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5646". The segments are numbered with punched dots on the reverse.
For a similar Torah crown by Moshe son of Sa'id, see: Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 40919 (Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv). For another similar example, see: Sotheby’s, December 19, 2007, Lot 96.
Height: 19.5 cm. Length: 110 cm. Good condition. One cast ornament missing. Additional ornaments apparently missing from the tops of some hinges (one surviving). Some connecting rods not original.
Category
Torah Ornaments
Catalogue Value