Velvet and metal thread, London, 1998, by Tamara Zlotogoura

Miniature Torah Mantle. Made for a Torah scroll (the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible) which forms part of a set of ceremonial silver, commissioned by Edgar Astaire. The mantle contains metal thread in chain stitch and purl, and glass beads. It shape is basically rectangular but tapering at the top. It has two open sections in the top through which the rods that hold a Torah scroll would project when the mantle is in use as a protective cover.

Given by Edgar Astaire

Commissioned by Mr Edgar Astaire

Contemporary Judaica in Britain
Judaica has always reflected the artistic styles of its time. In the late 19th century ceremonial silver was available through large companies such as Joseph & Horace Savory and cherished pieces were brought into England by the Jews who had fled the pogroms in Eastern Europe. In the first half of the 20th century the two world wars and the Holocaust meant that little Jewish silver was produced. It was not until Jewish communities had become more established that synagogues began to commission new work. The designers were often non-Jewish, as was Professor Gerald Benney, the eminent silversmith who began to make ceremonial objects in contemporary styles in the 1960s. More recently a new generation of silversmiths, including Tamar de Vries Winter, have continued to make ritual objects. Their work has enabled traditional Jewish religious customs and practices to be fulfilled in a modern style.

A Torah mantle protects the Torah scroll, which contains the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) and is the most sacred object in the Jewish faith.

This example forms part of a miniature Torah set, made in silver by Gerald Benney. It is embroidered with cotton in satin stitch in Hebrew, which in translation reads: Ezer Son of Mordekhai.

M.7-2012