A close examination of the inscriptions and structure of this crown reveals that it was made and decorated in two phases. The longest inscription, on a gilt cartouche of the lower band, reveals that the older, lower section was given by a couple in honor of their sons:
T[his was] djonated by] Rabb…Moses son of the late R[abbi] Isaac Menkes, and his wife…Rachel daughter of the late Simon, on behalf of their Sons, may they be worthy to r[aise them] to the Torah, to the m[arriage canopy] and to g[ood] d[eeds]. A[men], S[elah]. In the year (chronogram from Exodus 17:11=[5]525 [=1764/65]).
The decoration of this lower portion largely consists of architectural and ornamental elements: pilasters and arches, fruits, rococo scroll and shell forms, and animals. Eight or nine years after its fabrication, a second donor added engraved silver dedicatory panels to the lowest tier in memory of his parents:
May the Lord remember the soul of… my father…the late Simon, son of the late Ahraham, for I vow this on behalf of the remembrance [sic] of his soul and M[ay his] s[oul] be b[ound up] in the b[onds of] eternal I[e. A[men], S[elah].
And my mother…Zisset daughter of the late Rabbi Israel Isser.
The second donation, the upper section, is the most interesting portion of the crown. The cast griffins that support it are relatives of the heraldic, guardian figures found on the contemporaneous carved wooden arks of Galician synagogues. They support a circlet bearing a complete cycle of zodiac signs, each labeled in Hebrew. This astrological cycle has a long history in Jewish art from the period of the mosaic pavements of ancient synagogues, through medieval decorative arts and illuminated manuscripts, to printed versions of the same texts dating to the eighteenth century. Another possible influence on the iconography of the Lvov crown was the famous painted ceiling of the nearby Chodorów wooden synagogue, whose program included a zodiac cycle surrounding a central circle with a double-headed eagle, symbol of the Polish kingdom that ruled Galicia until 1772. (The same political symbol appears on the lower tier of the crown.) However, the symbols of the crown cycle differ markedly from those of the painted ceiling in both their forms and surrounding inscriptions, which suggests that the silversmith had another model, probably a printed prayer book.
By adding another tier and a dome, the second, unnamed donor created a crown whose complex structure reflects the multitiered architecture and furnishings of Galician synagogues of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He also set a pattern that would be followed by numerous Eastern and Central European Torah crowns into the twentieth century.