Obj. ID: 37105 Torah finials, Marrakech (Marrakesh), circa 1910
sub-set tree:
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.
Fine metalwork was an almost exclusive Jewish trade in Morocco. There are a wide variety of forms of Rimmonim from Morocco. It seems as if each community in Morocco had its own form. These Rimmonim are of the type used in the synagogues of Marrakesh and Essaouria. They are of a distinctive shape which originated in these two cities. The six-sided body is made of cast, open work pieces behind which are place green and red colored paper. The engraving on the tubes uses the "Waw" motif so often found on engraved amulets from these two cities.