Bidspirit 拍卖 | Torah Crown with Filigree Decorations

Torah Crown with Filigree Decorations and Colored Glass Stones – Poland, Late 18th Century – Attributed to the Court of the Rebbe of Ruzhin - Torah crown. [Poland], dedicatory inscription dated 1796. Silver, cast and gilt; silver, repoussé, stamped, pierced and engraved (marked with an Austro-Hungarian duty-free mark in use in 1809-1810, and with an additional illegible mark, presumably a control mark from the first decade of the 19th century); filigree; niello; glass stones. Small, elegant Torah crown, apparently used for a miniature Torah scroll intended for private use, and attributed to the courts of the Ruzhin dynasty. Crown of a design characteristic of Eastern European Torah crowns from Galicia, Ukraine and Poland, set with six large colored glass stones. With a low, circular base and a tall crown repoussé with vegetal patterns, comprising six large curved arms surmounted by a smaller crown, likewise with six arms, with a large bell suspended at its center. The upper crown is encircled by a low railing and surmounted by an additional crown-shaped filigree ornament, above which is a large bird-shaped ornament. Additional animal ornaments encircle the crown on its three tiers: six resting stags are fixed at the bases of the arms of the large crown; six lions walking on all fours are fixed to the tops of the arms; and three birds of prey with outspread wings are fixed around the upper railing. Filigree vegetal decorations are incorporated into the base, the arms and the upper crown. Three plaques fixed to the base bear the names of the silversmiths who produced the crown, in black niello letters: ”This is our handiwork… 5556 // the humble Moshe, son of R. / Yosef Segal // the humble Gedaliah, son of R. / Yitzchak, of blessed memory”. This crown was apparently intended to adorn a miniature Torah scroll, of the type privately used by exceptionally wealthy individuals, such as Sir Moses Montefiore, who would take a miniature Torah scroll with him on his travels around the world. Miniature Torah scrolls were also given as gifts to rebbes, so that they could carry them with them, like the kings of Israel, who possessed two Torah scrolls: ”One placed in his treasury, and the other which goes out and comes in with him; he makes it like an amulet and suspends it from his arm, as it is written, ‘I have placed the Lord before me always '” (Sanhedrin 21a-22a). The rebbes of the Ruzhin dynasty maintained the custom of having a miniature Torah scroll written for the Rebbe. The Boyan rebbes possessed several such Torah scrolls, attributed to R. Yisrael of Ruzhin and his son R. Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura, which they used during their travels from city to city. Another crown, attributed to R. Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin, was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 16 March 1999, Lot 327; formerly in the Gilbert Collection, it is now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (LOAN:GILBERT.68:1, 2-2008). Height: 27 cm. Diameter of base: 10 cm. Maximum width: 15 cm. Weight: approx. 800 g. Overall good condition. Minor warping and blemishes. Provenance: 1. Attributed to the court of the Rebbe of Ruzhin. 2. The Firkovich Collection. 3. Sotheby's, New York, 27 June 1984, Lot 253 (illustrated on the front and back covers).