Obj. ID: 3634
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Torah case

761053.DOC

The prismatic Torah case consists of a body and a coronet.

The Torah case is divided into two vertical halves at the centre of its front facet, while the back facet is separated from the body and attached to each half by hinges. The case consists of ten facets and is encircled at its upper and lower edges by two stepped strips creating two friezes. Thirteen knobs for hanging the wrapper are fixed in the upper frieze. The façade and the coronet are painted silver, while the entire case remained as plain wood (fig. 1).

A hand written sticker is attached to the centre of the front facet, inscribed with a large Hebrew letter "ח" enclosing the name and place:

"כמוס – טהר/ צפאקץ."

"Khamus Taher, Sfax."

Two hooks are fixed on the front.

The open-work coronet is composed of ten units which continue the body's facets. Each of the coronet's facets is formed of a pair of arches separated by a column topped by a palmette. The arches enclose a tulip mounted over twin scrolls.

The inner face of the Torah case is plain wood. Each half has a double shelf at the bottom and the top. The lower space is blocked by a bar with a two rectangular openings for inserting the hands while raising the Torah. A bar with two horizontal rhomboid openings blocks the space between the upper shelf and the ceiling.

Holes for the Torah scroll staves are pierced at the bottom and top.