Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Tunisia, 19th Century

Pair of Torah finials. North Africa, probably Tunisia, [19th century].

Silver, cast, pierced, repoussé, and engraved (unmarked).

Large, massive Torah finials, resembling Italian Torah finials in both their style and dimensions. In form of three-tiered hexagonal towers, tapering upward. The uppermost tiers are capped with domes adorned with a vegetal pattern and surmounted by ornate hexagonal ornaments. Six fancy columns (pilasters) extend from each of the six corners of each tier, and the three tiers are bordered above and below by sets of railings. The joint connecting the body and shaft of each finial consists of a large, flattened spherical knob adorned with vegetal patterns and six cartouches engraved with dedicatory inscriptions (Hebrew):

"Committed is the notable one / mentioned below that he not / have permission to sell or offer as collateral, neither he / nor his descendants for all time / but he may bring them to whichever // synagogue [misspelled Hebrew] he wishes, / and if he goes / to the Land of Israel he may take them / with him, and no one / shall have the power / to claim he had consecrated them to Heaven".

Finials supported by unusually tall cylindrical shafts (more recent) with broad, dome-shaped bases.

Height: 57 cm. Maximal width: 12.5 cm. Fair condition. Chains and bells mostly missing (a single bell and remnants of a chain remain in place). Ornament missing from top of one corner column, and strip of metal missing from the uppermost hexagonal ornament of one finial. Shafts not original, but existing shafts apparently put in place sometime in the 19th century, or early 20th century at the latest. Somewhat loose connections and screw joints.