- Object Name:
- Torah Finials
- Artist/Maker:
- George Smith & Thomas Hayter
- Bio:
- active late 18th-early 19th century
- Place Made:
- London, England
- Date:
- 1801-02
- Medium:
- Silver: pierced, chased, cast, and parcel-gilt
- Dimensions:
- a: 18 3/4 × 4 1/2 in. (47.6 × 11.4 cm) b: 19 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (48.9 × 11.4 cm)
- Credit Line:
- Purchase: Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman, by exchange
- Accession Number:
- 1994-7a-b
Not On View
Although made in London, this pair of finials was used in the Gibraltar Synagogue of Etz Hayyim. They are among the earliest examples of a hexagonal tower design that was to become extremely popular in North Africa. The Jewish Community in British Gibraltar dates from the 1720s and the Etz Hayyim Synagogue was founded in 1749. The finials bear a dedicatory inscription in Hebrew for a Yehuda Serfati whose name is mentioned in a Gibraltar census of 1777.
Information may change as a result of ongoing research.