Pair of Torah finials. [Tunisia, probably Djerba, 19th century].
Silver (unmarked); filigree.
Pair of tall, narrow Torah finials, constructed around a central rod supporting two spherical ornaments and an additional half–spherical, half–prismatic ornament above them, all filigreed and perforated. Bells suspended from long chains dangle from the two upper ornaments. Two flattened, rounded hexagonal segments surmount both spherical ornaments, and the entire central rod is surmounted by a clover–shaped screw of a type characteristic of Islamic art. Polygonal shafts.
The structural and decorative design of these Torah finials is reminiscent of Tunisian Jewish “gnadel” or “gandila”–type bridal headdress ornaments and earrings (for comparison, see: Kedem Auction Catalogue No. 81 (2021), Lot 86).

Height: 48 cm. Minor blemishes and soldering repairs. One strip missing from ornaments at end of central rod. Shafts may have been exchanged, but such shafts can be found in other 19th–century Tunisian Torah finials.

For further comparison, see also: Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Item Nos. 3604, 3607, 248461, 27896.
Provenance: Private collection.