Obj. ID: 5734
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Torah case wrapper?, Ioannina, 1849

Mappah | Unknown

*Synagogue Objects | Torah case | Torah case wrapper

?

Unknown

1849

Unknown

Greece | Epirus | Ioannina
|

Unknown

Romaniot Jews
|

Greece | Ioannina | New Congregation Synagogue (Kahal Kadosh Hadash)

Unknown |

Unknown|

Ottoman Empire

Greece | Athens, Jewish Museum of Greece
| 24 (No.80.86)

Unknown

This textile belongs to a group of eight fabrics, called mappot which were probably used as Torah case wrappers; they are distinct from other wrappers documented in Greece. They are rectangular, mostly composed of four trapezoid units and all enclose a central core. In particular, they are characterized by a narrow strip inscribed with a Hebrew dedicatory inscription, which is attached in a "ח" shape atop the core.
As indicated in the inscriptions these textiles originated in Ioannina between1847-1858 (one of them dates to 1900).
Most fabrics of this group were dedicated by women for the life or (in one case) in memory of their husbands, while two were dedicated by men.
The hand-made woven strips are of local origin. They are usually made by non-Jewish women in the Ioannina region. Traditionally they were attached to men's socks, sometimes also bearing inscriptions including the owner's name.
(The technique is called kaltsodeta in Greek; kaltsa –stocking. We are grateful to Andrianopoulou Panayiota for this information). It can be assumed that Jewish women adopted the custom, adjusted it to their purposes and affixed these strips to the mappot.
A cord creating suspension loops is attached to the upper edge of each fabric indicating their use as Torah case wrappers; but since they are taller (approximately 55 cm) than any Torah case found in Ioannina, we are still uncertain about its function.
Most textiles of this group were donated to the New Holy Congregation Synagogue; on others the name of the particular synagogue is not mentioned. Such textiles were not found in the Old Congregation Synagogue where the Torah cases and Torah case wrappers are still in use, and they were not recorded elsewhere in Greece. Thus, the function of these textiles, the circumstances of their donation to the New Holy Congregation Synagogue during the period of eleven years awaits clarification through further research.

1. There were two synagogue compounds in Ioannina: the Old Holy Congregation and the New Holy Congregation. The names of the synagogues indicate that they were built in different periods. The Old Congregation Synagogue was probably built in the 17th century, while its name for the first time appeared on the shadai'a dedicatory plaque dating to 1726 (Sc.525-215). This may indicate the year of erection of the New Holy Congregation and probably reflects the need to distinguish between the two synagogues.

The cloth was donated to the Jewish Museum of Greece by the Jewish community of Ioannina on 20.07.80.