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.

Pair of Torah finials by silversmith Maurice Mayer. [Paris, ca. 1860].

Silver, repoussé, stamped, cut, and pierced. Marked with French fineness marks, and with maker’s marks: "M. Mayer" within a lozenge frame and additional mark "Mce. Mayer".

Tall Torah finials, designed as towers with tall, pointed, polygonal spires topped with flame-shaped ornaments. Each body consists of six sides, each pierced with a large arch supported by architectural columns. The center of each arch features a Star of David, functioning as a hanger for a bell. Matching horseshoe arches are pierced into the spire panels.

Silversmith
Maurice Mayer (b. 1801) was active in Paris from 1839 (his personal maker’s mark was registered in 1846). He signed his works with the title "Maurice Mayer Orfèvre de l'Empereur Paris" (Silversmith to the Emperor [Napoleon III]). His work was exhibited and awarded at various 19th-century Parisian expositions, and his Judaica objects are kept in prominent public and private collections, including: three pairs of Torah finials, two Torah shields, and a Torah crown in the Jewish Museum of Paris (mahJ); a Torah case and pair of Torah finials in the Jewish Museum New York (inv. no. S 1456a, b, c; Grafman no. 378); and a Sefirat HaOmer plaque in the Skirball Museum, Los Angeles.

For other work by Mayer, see: Sotheby’s, December 22, 2015, Lot 117; June 5, 2019, Lot 70; and April 29, 2013, Lot 248 (the Steinhardt Collection).

Height: 45 cm. Max. width: 9 cm. Overall good condition. Minor bends and fractures. Slight corrosion. Sections soldered together.

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.