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Obj. ID: 4074
Sacred and Ritual Objects
  Torah ark doors from Przemyśl Synagogue, Poland, 1923

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Radovan, Zev, 1990

The double-winged door is a vertical rectangular tablet. It is adorned by foliate scrolls stemming from two tulips on either side, and rays radiating from the four corners. The decoration surrounds a rectangular central tablet with a Hebrew dedicatory inscription, engraved in filled square letters, that reads:

"ז"נ (זו נדבת)/ הר' (הרב) אהרן ניסבוים נ"י (נרו יאיר) עבור/ נשמת אמו רבקה ע"ה (עליה השלום) בת ר' דוב/ בערל ז"ל (זכרו לברכה) שנפטרה י"ז תשרי/ תרפ"ד ( 1923. 27.9 ) "

"This is the donation of the Rabbi Aaron Nissbaum, may his light shine, for the repose of the soul of his mother Rebecca, may she rest in peace, the daughter of Rabbi Dov Berl, of blessed memory, who died on the 17th of Tishrei, (5)684 (27.9.1923),"    

Summary and Remarks

Przemysl is a city in Rzeszow province in South Eastern Poland, situated by the San River. It was an important trade centre connecting the East with the West (Lvov and Krakow) and the North and South (Baltic Coast and Hungary). The city prospered as an important trade centre during the Renaissance period. Like nearby Lvov, the city's population consisted of a great number of nationalities, including Ukrainians, Poles, Germans, Czechs and Jews. The prosperity came to an end in the middle of the 17th century.  
Only one synagogue is still standing in the city: The Scheinbach synagogue built in 1910 (Located at J. Slowackiego street), is now a public library. The few other synagogues in the city were destroyed by the Nazis in September 1939, among them the wooden synagogue reconstructed in 1760 (fig 1), the Alte (Old) synagogue, and the Temple.  
It is still unclear to which of the Torah Arks within these synagogues the plaque was attached.

Remarks

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Name/Title
Torah ark doors from Przemyśl Synagogue | *Architecture | *Architectural components | Door
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1923
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Historical Origin
Community type
Congregation
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Poland | Sc_274
| 9 (inv. no.5299)
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
Material / Technique
Silver, copper
Material Stucture
cut, sawed
Material Decoration
sawed
Material Bonding
soldered, fastened by nails
Material Inscription
punched
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
271 mm
Length
Width
480 mm
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

Foliate scrolls emerging from two tulips and surrounding a dedicatory inscription.

Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
The doors were purchased from Mr. S. Kotula from Rzeszow, on 3.8.1971, who claimed that they were originally from one of the synagogues of Przemysl. It is not known in which of the city's synagogues the doors were used. Nonetheless, our object's height indicates that they might not have been the doors themselves, but were probably attachments to larger wooden Ark doors, adjusted to its double wings.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

Gruber, Samuel D. and Phyllis Myers. Survey of Historic Jewish Sites in Poland (Washington, DC: U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and World Monuments Fund, 1994; second revised edition, 1995).
Type
Original Object
Documenter
Gioia Perugia Sztulman | 09.90
Author of description
Ariella Amar | 12.91
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
Ariella Amar | 02.02
Language Editor
Judith Cardozo | 06.07
Donor
UNESCO |
Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |