![Pair of Torah finials. Oran, Algeria, [second half of the 19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved (marked wit](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale105/236_1.jpg "Pair of Torah Finials – Oran, Algeria, 19th century – Ben-Zaken Family")
![Pair of Torah finials. Oran, Algeria, [second half of the 19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved (marked wit](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale105/236_2.jpg "Pair of Torah Finials – Oran, Algeria, 19th century – Ben-Zaken Family")
![Pair of Torah finials. Oran, Algeria, [second half of the 19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved (marked wit](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale105/236_4.jpg "Pair of Torah Finials – Oran, Algeria, 19th century – Ben-Zaken Family")
Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Pair of Torah Finials – Oran, Algeria, 19th century – Ben-Zaken Family – Chaloum Djian, Silversmith
Opening: $600
Sold for: $3,250
Including buyer's premium
Pair of Torah finials. Oran, Algeria, [second half of the 19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved (marked with French quality marks and silversmith’s maker’s mark, the initials "CD" inside a diamond-shaped frame, and between the two initials, a sailboat = Chaloum Djian); gilt.
Pair of Torah finials, each surmounted by a dome-like "roof", in turn surmounted by a gilt ornament in the shape of a stylized flower bud. The finial bodies are in the form of hexagonal three-tiered towers. Ornaments are pierced into each sides of each hexagon; on the lower and upper tiers, the patterns are vegetal, while in the middle tier there are horseshoe-arch-shaped niches (windows), with, inside them, bells dangling from suspension hooks. Bodies have cup-like bases surmounting cylindrical shafts. Six chains with bells at their ends are suspended from the base of each body.
The silversmith Chaloum Djian is documented as being active in Oran as early as 1857, and he is mentioned in a book on the subject of silversmithing in Algeria and Tunisia: Paul Eudel, "L'orfevrerie Algerienne et Tunisienne", Alger, Typographie & lithographie Adolphe Jourdan, 1902 (French), pp. 407, 409.
Height: 33.5 cm. Width: 7 cm. Good condition. Minor warping. Several suspension hooks and bells may not be original.
For a similar pair of Torah finials created by the same silversmith, see: Kedem, Auction 88, September 6, 2022, Lot 296.
Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields
Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields