Torah Shield, Silver: chased and pierced, 1859/60 (date of inscription)
Object Name:
Torah Shield
Place Made:
Ródhos (?) (Greece)
Date:
1859/60 (date of inscription)
Medium:
Silver: chased and pierced
Dimensions:
14 5/8 × 11 × 3/4 in. (37.1 × 27.9 × 1.9 cm)
Credit Line:
Purchase: Docents of the Jewish Museum through the Nash Aussenberg Memorial Fund
Accession Number:
1991-124

Not On View

This Torah shield was dedicated to the Kahal Gadol Synagogue of Rhodes by Michael Hayyim David Soriano. The shield was probably once a mirror-back. Since superstition dictated that mirrors be turned to face the wall when not in use, Ottoman mirror-backs were often lavishly decorated. The Jewish Museum also owns a matching Torah Shield (1992-94) dedicated to the same synagogue by the same donor.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

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