An Elaborate German Torah Mantle, Wenkheim, 1777

An Elaborate German Torah Mantle, Wenkheim, 1777

The dedicatory inscription on this luxuriously-embroidered Torah mantle informs us that it was “donated by the honorable nobleman, officer, benefactor, and leader Samson ben Nathan ha-Levi, of blessed memory, and his esteemed, noble wife Gitla bat Nathan Joseph ha-Levi, of blessed memory, of the holy community of Wenkheim in the year [5]537 [1777].” The images that adorn this textile–tortile columns and a pair of lions rampant holding a crown aloft–are motifs often found on German Torah mantles and Torah ark curtains of this period. However, the ewer prominently embroidered beneath the crown is a direct allusion to the donors, as both the husband and wife were of Levitical descent and the ewer is the traditional symbol of Levites, who would customarily wash the hands of the priests before they blessed the people. This same couple also commissioned an elaborate silver Torah shield from the distinguished silversmith Johann Jacob Runecke. The shield, housed in the private collection of William Gross, is decorated with the exact same imagery as that found on this Torah mantle.

Physical Description

Silk embroidered with multicolored and gilt threads (35 x 18 in.; 890 x 460 mm).