Obj. ID: 9190
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Torah finials, Iran, 1899

The pear-shaped finial consists of a shaft, a body, and an apex.

The cylindrical, tapering shaft is encircled at the top and the bottom. The shaft bears vertical alternating decoration of a blank strip, a strip with a waving line and small flowers, a strip with small horizontal lines, and a strip with a dedicatory inscription. The inscription is written in square-filled letters. On the one finial it reads:

"זה והקדיש הה (הרב הגדול) כהר משה חניך הלוי"

“This and dedicated by the great Rabbi Koer Moshe Hanih Ha Levi”

On the other finial it reads:

"הלוי הי''ו (ה' יחיהו ) ע''ש (על שם) בתו אסתר נענ נוחה עדן נפטרה ש' תרנט"

“Ha Levi, may the Lord sustain and protect him ??? his daughter Ester, may she rest in Eden, passed away in the year 1899”

The shaft is topped by a globular ring, decorated with vertical strips of small balls.

The pear-shaped body is divided into two parts by a protruding ring.

The lower part is divided into three bands, separated by a narrow blank strip. The body base depicts elongated leaves radiating from the bottom. It is topped by a band, bearing a rhomboid motif, and framed with lined strips. The widest band is decorated with tapering vertical branches, framed by punched strips and divided by blank strips.

The onion-shaped upper part is divided into three bands.

The bottom band bears a waving strip with a punched line in the center. It is topped by a band depicting vertical leaves. The upper conical band is alternately decorated with blank and lined strips, radiating from a top.

The ring is decorated with a floral pattern. Chains, terminating with drop-shaped bells, are attached to the ring.

The undulating apex surmounts the finial.