Rimmonim, silver, London hallmarks for 1995, mark of Gerald Benney.

One of a pair of rimmonim, for use with miniature Torah scroll. Of bulbous cupola form with six silver gilt bells and above a silver gilt crown finial. Textured baluster stem.

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.

In Judaism the Torah (the scroll containing the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is usually decorated with either a crown or a pair of finials. These are known as 'rimmonim' (pomegranates).

Some rimmonim, as here, are decorated with bells to draw attention to the reading of the Torah and also as a reminder of the bells on the robe of the High Priest of the ancient temple of Jerusalem.

These rimmonim form part of a miniature Torah set made by Professor Gerald Benney. Though not Jewish himself, Benney began to make Jewish ceremonial objects in the 1960s, using a contemporary style.

M.1-2012