Obj. ID: 39379 Mitpachat, Baghdad, circa 1880
sub-set tree:
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
In the Ashkenazi and Sephardi tradition the Torah Scroll is protected when not being read by a textile covering, often very beautifully embroidered. In the Mizrachi and Romaniote traditions, the Sefer Torah is generally not robed in a mantle, but rather housed in an ornamental wooden case which protects the scroll, called a "tik".
One of the forms of Torah decoration for Tiks in Iraq was a scarf-like cloth or ‘Mitpachat’ which was donated to the synagogue by women. These textiles were hung on the Torah Tik and provided a colorful addition to the synagogue scene when the Torah was removed from the ark. This is an early and important example of this type of object. The cloth is dedicated in the memory of the grandmother of the wife of David Sassoon. This family was a very successful merchant family who created businesses and branches all through the Far East and then in London. The greater Sassoon family was often referred to as "the Rothschilds of the Sephardic world'.
Inscription: This was donated by the Rav Sassoon Yechizkiel Gabai for the (eternal) rest of his Mother, Madam Sarah, May her soul be bound up in the bond of life