Elegant Pair of Torah Finials – Amsterdam, 1738 – From the Collection of the Antwerp Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue

Elegant Pair of Torah Finials – Amsterdam, 1738 – From the Collection of the Antwerp Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue
Pair of large and majestic Torah finials. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1738.
Silver (fully marked; maker: Pieter Mourits), cast, repoussé, punched, and engraved; gilt.
Massive and majestic pair of Torah finials, in architectural style characteristic of finials associated with the community of Dutch Jews of Portuguese origin.
Tall, wide, cylindrical shafts, surmounted by a pair of horizontal gadrooned rings. The upper ring is in turn surmounted by a hexagonal knop, decorated with acanthus leaves and pierced with oves. Body consists of three tiers, each with six bell-hung openings, decorated in vegetal patterns. Lower tier with stylized dolphin-like ribs between openings, with bells hanging from rings created by their curving tails. A single bell – the largest – is suspended in the interior of the lower tier. Middle tier openings separated by scrolling arches with baluster finials. Both surmounted by gilt crown knops, in turn surmounted by baluster finials.
This meticulously designed and crafted pair of finials is adorned with a sum total of 50 bells in different sizes. Together, when shaken, they chime harmoniously.
No other objects of Judaica are known to have been produced by silversmith Pieter Mourits, and it is possible that this pair of finials is the only such work he ever created.
For a similar pair of Torah finials, made in 1705 by silversmith Pieter van Hoven, see: Mirjam Alexander-Knotter, "Gifts from the Heart, Ceremonial Objects from the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, " 2004, item no. 12.
Height: 43 cm. Weight: 4.36 kg.
Provenance: Purchased in 1965, directly from the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue of Antwerp, Belgium.
Enclosed: Report with a detailed account of the condition of the finials and an analysis of the quality of the silver.