Pair of Torah Finials – Amsterdam, 1731 – "Tilrimonim"

Pair of Torah Finials – Amsterdam, 1731 – "Tilrimonim"
Pair of Torah finials. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1731.
Silver (fully marked, unidentified maker), cast, repoussé and engraved; gilt.
Each finial has bells suspended from gracefully curving tendrils. Body surmounted by openwork crown, in turn surmounted by bud-shaped knop. Engraved inscription (in Latin letters) on both shafts: "YYS."
Dutch Torah finials of this particular type are known in Judeo-Dutch as "Tilrimonim" (i.e., "finials to be raised up high"). This local moniker is meant to distinguish them from another type of Dutch Torah finial, of the tower-shaped variety, which is typically massive and weighty. The "Tilrimonim", which are always small and lightweight, were used in Dutch Jewish communities of Portuguese origin for the ritual of raising the Torah scroll up high in order to display the inscribed parchment to the congregants, prior to the reading of the Torah.
Height: 29 cm. One bell missing. Loss to gilding.
Provenance: The Mozes Heiman Gans Collection, Amsterdam.