Obj. ID: 22048
Sacred and Ritual Objects Rimonim, Ioannina, 1789
The bulbous-shaped Torah finials consist of a shaft, a body and an apex.
The thin six-faceted shaft grows from a stepped hexagonal base and tapers towards the body. Rings encircle its bottom and top. The base is decorated with a whorl of elongated leaves, emerging from the top.
Two similar dedicatory inscriptions are inscribed on alternating facets of both shafts, whereas the other facets are decorated with scrolls enclosed within a double line. The inscription is written in filled, square letters and reads towards the body:
"פעמונים ורימונים (מבוסס על שמות לט:כו, כח:לד) האלו הקדישם הנ' (הנכבד) המ' (המבורך) כמה"ר (כבוד מורנו הרב) / כלב משה נר"ו (נטריה רחמנא ופרקיה – ישמרהו הרחמן ויצילהו) לחייו ולחיי בניו ה"י (ה' ישמרם) ולחיי אחיו ולחיי בנו ה"י (ה' ישמרם)/ והיה בבואם אל הקודש (מבוסס על שמות כח:כט; ויקרא י:יח, טז:כג; יחזקאל מד:כז) של ק"ק (קהל קדוש) הישן ביום ר"ח (ראש חודש) אדר ש' (שנת) התקמט."
“These bells and pomegranates (“a bell and a pomegranate”, based on Ex. 39:26, 28:34) were dedicated by the honourable blessed teacher Rabbi Moses Kalev, may the Merciful protect and save him. For his life, and for the life of his son, may the Lord protect them, and for the life of his brother and for the life of his brother’s son, may the Lord protect them. And when they (the finials) goeth unto the Sanctuary (based on Ex. 28:29; Lev. 10:18, 16:23; Ezek. 44:27) of the Old Holy Congregation on the day of the New Moon of Adar, the year 5549 (27.02.1789).”
The bulbous-shaped body is composed of two compressed globes set one upon the other and separated by a narrow waist. It is supported by a concave bowl-shaped base, with elongated leaves. Each globe is formed by protruding oval segments decorated with vertical medallions, enclosing bouquets of open flowers, leaves and scrolls in several variations.
Chains carrying drop-shaped bells with a globular pendant are suspended from the lower globe.
The body is surmounted by a pointed dome, decorated with scrolled leaves and garlands and supporting an apex, shaped as a bouquet of tulips and roses, set on whorl of leaves circlet (see: Remarks).
The four-flower motif is an emblematic bouquet, usually comprising tulips, roses, hyacinths and carnations, growing from clusters of leaves. It was designed between the years 1540 to1560 inIstanbul.
This motif became a central theme in Ottoman decoration and was adopted as the emblem of the Empire, depicted on official objects, documents and Architectonic devices. An example is the emblem carved on the central gate of the fortified walls in Ioannina (nowGreece). During the years several flowers were omitted and those remaining were represented as an ornament rather than an emblem. Two of them were the three-petal tulip and the fan-shaped carnation, which were frequently combined and depicted in embroideries and utensils.
The centralized governance of theOttoman Empireand its powerful artistic influence instigated a unification of the arts all over the Empire. Both traditional and innovative designs were spread throughout the Empire becoming the visual vocabulary of local artists. Nonetheless, the common motifs underwent stylistic changes while maintaining features of the original model. The Ottoman artistic legacy was so influential that long after the decline of the Empire, it continued to exist.
As a result of the unification of motifs, the four-flower motif was one of the most frequently decorative images since the end of the 16th century. Jewish artifacts, which were made within the Ottoman cultural environment, such as Greece, the Balkans, and the Middle East also depicted this motif. The four-flower motif adorns some dedicatory plaques produced in Greece in the 18th century and Esther scroll containers of the 19th century. The same motif appears on various embroideries used as Torah mantles and ark curtains, made around the Balkan countries.
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The finials are in good condition.