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Obj. ID: 10852
  Sacred and Ritual
  Torah mantle, Thessaloniki (Salonika), 1896

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Radovan, Zev, 09.93

The trapezoid Torah mantle comprises a cloak attached to a round top and has a vertical back opening. The central upper front is decorated with a crown flanked by the Hebrew initials:

כ ת

Translation: "The crown of Torah" (based on Avot 4:13).

Below the crown is a wreath made up of two foliate branches bound by a ribbon, creating a roundel that encloses a dedicatory inscription.  A Hebrew dedication is inscribed in square, filled letters, which reads:

"קדש לה'/ זאת נדבה אשר/ הפרישו מתרומת/ כספם היקר הר'/ יוסף משה חבי"ד (חכם בית דין)/ הי"ו (ה' ישמרהו ויחיהו) ובנו היקר/ מרדכי הי"ו (ה' ישמרהו ויחיהו) לכבוד/ אביו ישלם ה' פעלם (מבוסס על רות ב: יב)/ שנת 5656."

Translation: "Dedicated to the Lord. This donation was made of the money contributed by the dear Rabbi Joseph Moses, Judge of the Rabbinic Court, may the Lord sustain and protect him. And of his dear son Mordechai, may the Lord sustain and protect him. (The donation was made) in honour of his father, may 'the Lord will recompense thy work (and a full reward be given thee of the Lord, under whose wings thou art come to trust.'; based on Ruth 2:12). The year 5656 (1896)."  

A scrolling stem runs along the edges, while four bouquets of flowers are set on each corner and point to the center (fig. 1). The round top has two openings for the Torah staves. A fringed strip surrounds the top and the bottom edges of the cloak. 

Online collection of the ritual objects from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is available here: http://cbj.jhi.pl/collections/964689

Summary and Remarks

 The mantle is made up of a rectangular cloth, imitating a traditional cushion cover. Yet, unlike most mantles in the collection, this mantle was originally made for this purpose, although sewn as if it is a secondary use of a cushion cover, adjusted to be a mantle. The fine work and abundant decoration attest to the economic situation of the donours, who most probably were wealthy people, who could afford a special work dedicated to the synagogue.

Remarks

sub-set tree:  

Name/Title
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1896
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
8 image(s)    items per page

8 image(s)    items per page
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
Material / Technique
Silk
Cloth: dark red silk velvet
Lining: cotton
Decoration: gold threads in laid and couched embroidery
Foundation: cardboard
Inscription: gold threads in laid and couched embroidery
Foundation: cardboard
Additions: machine-made fringed strip, paillettes
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height: 900 mm
Width: 860 mm
Diameter: 20 mm
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition

Intact

Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

Brzewska, Iwona and Magdalena Sieramska, "Catalogue," in The Museum of the Jewish Historical Institute: Arts and Crafts (Warsaw: Auriga Wydawnictwa Artystyczne I Filmowe, 1995).

Juhasz, Esther, “Arigim ve-rekamot ba-bayit u-ve-veit ha-keneset”, In Yehudei Sepharad Ba-Imperia Ha-Ottomanit, ed.  Esther- Juhasz, ( Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1989), 64-119 (In Hebrew)

Juhasz, Esther, “The Material Culture of Sephardic Jews in the Western Ottoman Empire, (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries) In The Jews of the Ottoman Empire, ed. Avigdor Levy ( Princeton: The Institute of Turkish Studies, 1994), 575-583.

Messinas, Elias. The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia. (Athens: Gavrielides Editions, 1997)
Type
Documenter
Bella Zaichik | 09.93
Author of description
Ariella Amar | 01.10
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
Dvora Sax | 03.10
Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |