Torah Finials (Amsterdam)
These silver and filigree Torah finials used by Amsterdam’s Ashkenazic community are shaped like four-tiered towers. They have gilt bells in their arches and gilt urns on their corners and are topped with crowns. The form of these finials began to appear in German finials of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with slight variations.
Credits
Collection Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, MB00004. On loan from the Ashkenazi Community Amsterdam.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
You may also like
Gazeta de Amsterdam (Amsterdam Gazette)
The Gazeta de Amsterdam was printed by David de Castro Tartas, in that city, not regularly, from 1672 to 1702. This is considered the first Jewish newspaper, although it has no particular Jewish…
Selections from the Kurant
Lisbon, July 26. Here three rich Portuguese were detained on suspicion of secretly having practiced their faith. And their lives would have been spared if, God forbid, they would have…
Flyer for Redeeming Captured Jews
This flyer calls for the Jewish community to pay a ransom to rescue Jewish captives from the 1686 siege of Buda, which resulted in the capture of the Hungarian city from the Ottoman Empire by armies…
Re’shit bikure katsir (First Fruits of the Harvest)
I have examined the matter carefully, to see whether I should uphold that which they have already done, in nullifying the custom [of reciting the priestly blessing after dark, during the Ne…
The dedication page for Charles VI and his wife, Elizabeth Christina
This dedication page made by Meshulam Zimmel for Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1711–1740) and his wife, Elizabeth Christina (1691–1750), whose portraits appear on the page, presents three versions of…
Ladino Translation of Baḥya Ibn Pakuda’s Ḥovot ha-levavot (Duties of the Heart)
A book titled in Ladino Obligasyon de los korazones [Duty of the Hearts] because it is translated from a text written by the pious gaon, our master Baḥya the judge, of blessed…
Engage with this Source
Related Guide
Jewish Printing and Book Culture
1500–1750
Jewish printing unified far-flung communities by standardizing religious texts, created textual uniformity, and enabled vernacular translations, and facilitated the spread of Jewish texts and knowledge.
You may also like
Gazeta de Amsterdam (Amsterdam Gazette)
The Gazeta de Amsterdam was printed by David de Castro Tartas, in that city, not regularly, from 1672 to 1702. This is considered the first Jewish newspaper, although it has no particular Jewish…
Selections from the Kurant
Lisbon, July 26. Here three rich Portuguese were detained on suspicion of secretly having practiced their faith. And their lives would have been spared if, God forbid, they would have…
Flyer for Redeeming Captured Jews
This flyer calls for the Jewish community to pay a ransom to rescue Jewish captives from the 1686 siege of Buda, which resulted in the capture of the Hungarian city from the Ottoman Empire by armies…
Re’shit bikure katsir (First Fruits of the Harvest)
I have examined the matter carefully, to see whether I should uphold that which they have already done, in nullifying the custom [of reciting the priestly blessing after dark, during the Ne…
The dedication page for Charles VI and his wife, Elizabeth Christina
This dedication page made by Meshulam Zimmel for Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1711–1740) and his wife, Elizabeth Christina (1691–1750), whose portraits appear on the page, presents three versions of…
Ladino Translation of Baḥya Ibn Pakuda’s Ḥovot ha-levavot (Duties of the Heart)
A book titled in Ladino Obligasyon de los korazones [Duty of the Hearts] because it is translated from a text written by the pious gaon, our master Baḥya the judge, of blessed…