Obj. ID: 6298
Sacred and Ritual Objects Torah case, Lybia, 1913
The ten-faceted wooden Torah^case consists of a body and a coronet. Faceted annulets encircle the upper and lower borders of the body. The frieze between the annulets of the upper borders is inlaid with a wooden geometrical pattern. Eleven iron knobs for hanging the Torah case wrapper encircle the upper border. The facet on each sides of the case's opening bears an inlaid wooden foliate pattern decoration and an arch-shaped silver plaque. The plaque is decorated with an horse shoe arch below a foliate pattern. A dedicatory inscription engraved within the arch in linear letters begins on the right plaque, and reads:
וזאת/ התורה זכה וברה/ מזוקקת גם ברורה/ בכתיבה ישרה/ כדת של תורה/ ובהגהה הדורה/ לצפירz תפארd )ע!פ יש' כח:5( / שי ומנחה טהורה )ע!פ מל' א :11( לעלוי/ נשמת הבחור היקר/ הר' רפאל עטיא נ!ע )נוחו עדן(/ ונר!ו )נפשו רוחו eנשמתו( בצרור החיים/ צרורה בחג הסכות/ זמן שמחת התורה/ ש! התר!עג ליצירה/ תמ!ך )zdid npegze kaec( בזכות התורה !
This is/ the Torah pure and clear /purified? and pure? /written in a right script/ according to the law of the Torah/ gloriously proof read/ for the diadem of beauty (according to Isa. 28:5)/ a present and a pure offering (according t !For the exaltation of the soul of the dear youth/ the Rabbi Raphael Atia may he rest in Eden/ his soul, (spirit, the spirit)? bound up in the bond of life/ at the feast of Sukot/ time of Simhat^Torah/ the year 5673=(1913)/ may his rest be honoured by virtue of the Torah!
A silver floral base for the clasp is attached under each plaque. Two pairs of hinges are in the back of the case. The inner face is plain wood. The hollow bottom has rectangular hand holders. The hollow top is decorated with a foliate openwork pattern. Two insert holes for the staves are at top of the case. The coronet is ten-faceted. Each facet, decorated with symmetrical openwork in a scroll foliate pattern, terminates with a lily motif.
