Obj. ID: 37164  Rimonim, Georgia, 1902

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The finials evolved from knobs at the upper end of the staves (Atzei Chaim) on which the Torah scroll is wound. Since the shape of the spherical finial recalled that of a fruit, it was called a tappu'aḥ, "apple," among the Jews of Spain and in the Sephardi Diaspora, and a rimmon, "pomegranate," in all other communities.

The earliest known reference to Torah finials occurs in a document from 1159, found in the Cairo Genizah, from which we learn that by the 12th-century finials were already being made of silver and had bells. Around the same time, Maimonides mentions finials in the Mishneh Torah (Hilkhot Sefer Torah 10:4). Despite the variations on the spherical shape which developed over the centuries and the addition of small bells around the main body of the finial, the spherical, fruit-like form was the basic model for the design of finials in Oriental and European communities.

A most significant variation appeared in 15th-century Spain, Italy, and Germany, where the shape of finials was influenced by that of various objects of church ritual, whose design often incorporated architectural motifs, The resulting tower-like structure, which seems to have appeared around the same time in different parts of Europe, became the main type of finial in 18th-century Germany and Italy, as well as Morocco, brought there by Jews expelled from Spain.

Rimmonim from Georgia are a rarity. There is a typical form in which some Rimmonim were made, in a very special style. This pair represents that form and is among the very finest made in terms of workmanship. According to the inscription they were donated in memory of a woman, and at the end of the inscription is the name of the Holy City of Jerusalem. But at the time these were fashioned at the beginning of the 20th century there was no silversmith of sufficient skill in Jerusalem to craft such a superbly constructed pair of Rimmonim. They were surely made in Georgia according to the traditions of the Holy Community there and brought to Jerusalem for dedication in a synagogue. We know that there was at the least one community of Jews from Georgia in the old city in 1902, the year in which this pair was consecrated.

Inscription: In memory of Leah Avigael bat Miryam Jano