Silver Torah Crown for Torah Case. North Africa, probably Algeria, 20th century.
A beautiful large silver diadem. Cast and soldered, this diadem consists of eleven panels and two half-panels cast as decorative gates and connected with hinges and bolts. In the center of each panel is a large Star of David crafted in openwork and set with a colored stone, above which the Tablets of the Covenant appear with the Ten Commandments and a rectangle with a relief of lions grasping the crowned Tablets of the Covenant.
A small ring is soldered beneath each rectangle, possibly designed to hang a bell or other ornaments. All panels are decorated in openwork and end in a crown-topped arch. A cast column with a spiral pattern is applied near each hinge.
Each end of the diadem is a cast half-panel, adorned with the above decorations, as well as an ornament depicting the tribe of Reuven on the right and Naftali on the left. Each half-panel also exhibits a raised hand inscribed below with the inscription, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget.” Three large hooks soldered on the back side of the diadem are intended to attach the diadem to the Torah case. A similar item can be viewed in the book Crowning Glory at the Jewish Museum in New York (p. 282, item #499).
Condition: Good.
Size: Height: 16 cm. Length: 122 cm.
Provenance: Yechezkel Toporowitch Collection
Beautifying the Mitzvos: There is no item more treasured or sacred to the Jewish people than the Sefer Torah. Throughout the ages, Jewish communities have sought to beautify and decorate Sifrei Torah with silver crowns, breastplates and finials, following the dictum of the Sages who instructed to “Make a beautiful Sefer Torah” (Shabbos 133b).
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