Obj. ID: 37206
Sacred and Ritual Objects Torah shield, Bratislava (Pressburg), 1835
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
Breastplates – ornamental metal plates or shields hung in front of the Torah scroll – are found in all Ashkenazi communities, as well as Italy and Turkey, but designed differently in each community. In most cases the breastplate is made of silver or silver-plated metal. In Italy the breastplate is shaped like a half-coronet and known as the Chatzi-keter, "half-crown." In Turkey, the breastplate is called a Tas, and assumes a variety of shapes – circular, triangular, oval, or even the Star of David. In Western, Central, and Eastern Europe the breastplate is called either Tas or Tziz; its function there is not merely ornamental: it designates which Torah scroll is to be used for the Torah reading on any particular occasion, with interchangeable plaques.
The most notable early breastplates, from 17th-century Germany and Holland, were either square or rectangular, but over time they became rounded and decorative, and bells or small dedicatory plaques were suspended from its lower edge. During this period, the design of breastplates was influenced by that of the Torah Ark and the parokhet (curtain) concealing it, featuring various architectural motifs, the menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), Moses and Aaron, lions, or Torah crowns.
Adam Renner was a Jewish silversmith from the palace area of Bratislava and this Torah shield, or "Tas" as it is known in Hebrew, was made by him. He was an active silversmith and several Torah shields, all similar in design, inspired by examples from the capital of the Empire, Vienna, are know from his hand. Examples exist in the collections of the Klutznik museum in Washington, DC, and in the Jewish museum in New York. This design, with its extensive use of drapery and the very prominent three-dimensional canopy above, closely resemble the central decoration on several Torah curtains from the same period found in the collections of the temple Emanu-el museum and the Jewish museum in New York and the Jewish museum in Budapest. This example is the most elaborate of the several of this general type that exist in collections.
Inscription: Abbreviations for the Ten Commandments on the Tablets of the Law
sub-set tree:
F | Flower
O | Ornamentation: | Ornament
H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two lions
C | Crown
H | Heraldic composition | Central element | Tablets of the Law (central element of heraldic composition)
C | Curtain
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments | Floral motif
C | Columns
C | Canopy
S | Synagogue | Synagogue interior | Torah Ark
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