Large, Ornate Torah Case, with Matching Pair of Finials and...
Large, Ornate Torah Case, with Matching Pair of Finials and Dedicatory Inscriptions – Rangoon, Burma, 1924
Torah case with matching pair of finials. [Rangoon, Burma (today, Yangon, Myanmar)], dedicatory inscription dated 5684 [1924].
Wood dressed in a coat of sheet silver, repoussé, stamped, and engraved (unmarked); silver, cast, turned and engraved; silver rivets and brass screws. Velvet cloth. Without Torah scroll.
A fine, magnificent, and rare example of a Torah case typical of Burmese Jewish communities of Iraqi origin, which on one hand adheres to distinctive aspects from Iraq and the Near East but is on the other hand adorned using techniques and patterns characteristic of the Far East (China, Burma, and India). Large case, dressed in a coat of sheet silver, repoussé, and adorned with distinctive, rich vegetal motifs (large flowers – probably roses – in a recurrent pattern). The upper rim of the body is surmounted by a circular tiara-shaped adornment ("atarah") with a recurrent pattern. The "roof" of the case is a large, dome-like structure with matching vegetal patterns, finally surmounted with a pear-shaped ornament. A dozen chains with bells at their ends are suspended from the base of the domed "roof". The top of the case is flanked on either side by a pair of removable finials. Like the top of the case, the two finials are pear-shaped and adorned with matching vegetal patterns. Near the top of each finial is a disk from which six chains with bells at their ends are suspended. The bottom surface of the case is also coated in silver sheet. The case is opened and closed by means of a pair of silver buckles. A red velvet cloth lines the inside of the case.
A Hebrew dedicatory inscription is engraved in the upper and lower margins of the body of the case: "This case and the Torah scroll contained within are of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, he passed away Monday 24th Nissan 1924" / "On condition that the owners of the Torah scroll and its case may, whenever they wish, remove it and take it, and even to send it elsewhere, they and their representative are allowed". More inscriptions are engraved on the interior surfaces of the case; on the right side of the case are verses from the Torah, and on the left side is another dedicatory inscription: "This case and the Torah scroll contained within were dedicated for the soul of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, he passed away Monday 24th Nissan 1924". Yet another dedicatory inscription is engraved on the shaft of one of the two Torah finials: "Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, may he rest in Eden".
The Center for Jewish Art (CJA) is in possession of records regarding a "parochet" (Torah ark curtain) bearing a virtually identical inscription, dedicated to the transcendence of the soul of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David – with an identical date of passing – of Rangoon, Burma (from the collection of the Memorial Museum of Hungarian-Speaking Jewry, Safed); see: The Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item no. 9611. For a similar Torah case also from Rangoon, see: Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, no. B94.0541.
The Jewish community of Burma is and was one of the smallest of Jewish communities in East Asia. It was established in the 19th century with the arrival of Jews from Baghdad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Cochin, and Persia.
Height of case: 88.5 cm. Diameter at base: 27.5 cm. Height of finials: 18 cm. Overall good condition. Slight warping to one of the two finials. Shafts of finials trimmed diagonally to fit curvature of case’s domed "roof".
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Large, Ornate Torah Case, with Matching Pair of Finials and Dedicatory Inscriptions – Rangoon, Burma, 1924
Torah case with matching pair of finials. [Rangoon, Burma (today, Yangon, Myanmar)], dedicatory inscription dated 5684 [1924].
Wood dressed in a coat of sheet silver, repoussé, stamped, and engraved (unmarked); silver, cast, turned and engraved; silver rivets and brass screws. Velvet cloth. Without Torah scroll.
A fine, magnificent, and rare example of a Torah case typical of Burmese Jewish communities of Iraqi origin, which on one hand adheres to distinctive aspects from Iraq and the Near East but is on the other hand adorned using techniques and patterns characteristic of the Far East (China, Burma, and India). Large case, dressed in a coat of sheet silver, repoussé, and adorned with distinctive, rich vegetal motifs (large flowers – probably roses – in a recurrent pattern). The upper rim of the body is surmounted by a circular tiara-shaped adornment ("atarah") with a recurrent pattern. The "roof" of the case is a large, dome-like structure with matching vegetal patterns, finally surmounted with a pear-shaped ornament. A dozen chains with bells at their ends are suspended from the base of the domed "roof". The top of the case is flanked on either side by a pair of removable finials. Like the top of the case, the two finials are pear-shaped and adorned with matching vegetal patterns. Near the top of each finial is a disk from which six chains with bells at their ends are suspended. The bottom surface of the case is also coated in silver sheet. The case is opened and closed by means of a pair of silver buckles. A red velvet cloth lines the inside of the case.
A Hebrew dedicatory inscription is engraved in the upper and lower margins of the body of the case: "This case and the Torah scroll contained within are of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, he passed away Monday 24th Nissan 1924" / "On condition that the owners of the Torah scroll and its case may, whenever they wish, remove it and take it, and even to send it elsewhere, they and their representative are allowed". More inscriptions are engraved on the interior surfaces of the case; on the right side of the case are verses from the Torah, and on the left side is another dedicatory inscription: "This case and the Torah scroll contained within were dedicated for the soul of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, he passed away Monday 24th Nissan 1924". Yet another dedicatory inscription is engraved on the shaft of one of the two Torah finials: "Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David, may he rest in Eden".
The Center for Jewish Art (CJA) is in possession of records regarding a "parochet" (Torah ark curtain) bearing a virtually identical inscription, dedicated to the transcendence of the soul of Aharon Shalom Yechezkel Ezra Aharon David – with an identical date of passing – of Rangoon, Burma (from the collection of the Memorial Museum of Hungarian-Speaking Jewry, Safed); see: The Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item no. 9611. For a similar Torah case also from Rangoon, see: Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, no. B94.0541.
The Jewish community of Burma is and was one of the smallest of Jewish communities in East Asia. It was established in the 19th century with the arrival of Jews from Baghdad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Cochin, and Persia.
Height of case: 88.5 cm. Diameter at base: 27.5 cm. Height of finials: 18 cm. Overall good condition. Slight warping to one of the two finials. Shafts of finials trimmed diagonally to fit curvature of case’s domed "roof".
