Torah Mantle thumbnail 1
Torah Mantle thumbnail 2
+24
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 7, The Sheikha Amna Bint Mohammed Al Thani Gallery

Torah Mantle

c.1675 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Amsterdam (made)

The most sacred object in the Jewish faith is the Torah scroll. It contains the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) and is wound on rollers called the Trees of Life. For protection the scroll is put in a rigid case or covered by a cloth mantle. The rollers are topped with a single crown or a pair of finials called rimmonim ('pomegranates').

The scroll is kept in the Holy Ark (Aron ha-Kodesh), the focal point of the synagogue. On Sabbaths, Mondays, Thursdays and holy days it is taken out and read in front of the congregation.

This magnificent Torah mantle probably comes from the Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam.


Object details

Categories
Ceremonial Objects
Judaism
Religion
Object type
Torah mantle
Materials and techniques
Silk velvet and brocaded silk, embroidered and trimmed with various metal threads
Silk
Metal Thread
Weaving
Embroidering
Sewing
Brief description
Torah Mantle, Jewish, Dutch, c.1675, embroidered
Physical description
Mantle for a Torah Scroll. Silk velvet and silk brocaded with silver, embroidered with silver-gilt thread, twist, coil and purl with some silver inlaid and couched work; elaborately padded. Trimmed with a silver-gilt fringe and silver tassels. The whole mantle is magnificently decorated: on the front, within a large medallion, is a representation of the Aron ha-Kodesh [Ark of the Law] of the Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam. At the back are two other medallions, one showing the harp, sceptre and crown to symbolise King David. The second depicts the breastplate, laver of brass, altar, Aaron's rod, shovels, flesh-hooks and firepans used in the sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem [see Exodus 27, 3]. All three medallions are surmounted by the Crown of the Law.
Dimensions
  • Including fringe length: 114.5cm
  • Around the lower hem circumference: 206cm
Style
Jewish
Production typeUnique
Gallery label
Torah mantle About 1675 The mantle covers the Torah scroll, the most sacred object in the Jewish faith. It sits within the Holy Ark, which is the focal point of the synagogue. This mantle was probably made for the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, then the largest in Europe. The Holy Ark can be seen in the central medallion, surmounted by the Crown of the Law. Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands (Amsterdam) Silk velvet and brocaded silk, embroidered and trimmed with metal thread Supported by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of The David Berg Foundation, New York(09.12.2015)
Production
Believed to have been made for the Spanish-Portuguese [Sephardic] synagogue in Amsterdam.
Subjects depicted
Ark
Harp
Sceptre
Rod
Shovels
Aaron
David (King)
Summary
The most sacred object in the Jewish faith is the Torah scroll. It contains the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) and is wound on rollers called the Trees of Life. For protection the scroll is put in a rigid case or covered by a cloth mantle. The rollers are topped with a single crown or a pair of finials called rimmonim ('pomegranates').

The scroll is kept in the Holy Ark (Aron ha-Kodesh), the focal point of the synagogue. On Sabbaths, Mondays, Thursdays and holy days it is taken out and read in front of the congregation.

This magnificent Torah mantle probably comes from the Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam.
Associated object
350-1870
Bibliographic references
  • Jewish Ritual Art in the Victoria & Albert Museum by Michael E Keen [HMSO, London, 1991] p. 24
  • Royal Albert Hall Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish historical exhibition [Publications of the Exhibiitons Committee IV. London, Royal Albert Hall, de luxe edition, 1888, no 2 p. 181]
  • Symonds. M and Preece, L Needlework in religion: an introductory study of its inner meaning, history and development; also a practical guide to the construction and decoration of altar clothing and of the vestments required in church services. [London, Pitman, 1924? pp. 36-39, pl. III]
  • Salomon, Kathryn, Jewish Ceremonial Embroidery [London, Batsford, 1988 fig. 1 p. 10]
  • Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion, edited by Lesley Ellis Miller and Ana Cabrera Lafuente with Claire Allen-Johnstone, Thames and Hudson Ltd. in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom, 2021, p. 396
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
349-1870

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Record createdDecember 27, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O63935/torah-mantle-unknown/
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