Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
Pair of Torah Scroll Finials - Berlin, 18th Century - From the Collection of the Jewish Community of Nottingham
Opening: $85,000
Unsold
Pair of Torah scroll finials, made by the goldsmith Christian Ludwig Pintsch. Berlin, ca. 1755.
Silver, pierced, embossed, engraved and chased; parcel-gilt. Each of the finials is marked (stamps of the city and the goldsmith) three times.
Large, impressive finials, decorated with rocaille ornaments and lattice, applied cast eagles and pendent bells. Each finial is surmounted by an orb and bell-hung crown. Each finial is comprised of a central shaft and seven sections.
We know of two single (different) finials for a Torah scroll made by the goldsmith Christian Ludwig Pintsch; one is documented in the book by Wolfgang Schefller, Berliner Goldschmiede (Berlin, 1968), item no. 625; the other appeared in Sotheby's catalogue NO8814 (December 14, 2011), item 35.
The style of the present finials is known from other early German finials, such as a pair of finials created between 1716-1725 by the goldsmith Frantz Wagner (see: Die Goldschmiede Hamburgs, Erich Schliemann, 1985, no. 835). Another pair, similar in style, was made by the goldsmith Hans Cordt Albert Barckhan between 1760 and 1770 (see ibid., no. 838). A third pair, from the collection of the Jewish Museum in New York, was created by the goldsmith August Ferdinand Gentzmer in ca. 1789 (see Crowning Glory, Grafman, no. 260).
These finials were donated to the Nottingham Jewish community in 1913, along with a Torah scroll pointer (see next item) and 200 pounds sterling, by Gustav Meyer from Stockholm, in memory of his father, David Meyer, who served as minister of the Nottingham Jewish community between 1858 and 1868 and as president of the community in the years 1869-1881. David Meyer was even among the founders and staff of the innovative Jewish school in his community. When he resigned from his public roles and a farewell ceremony was held in his honor, Meyer was described as "One of the finest men that has been associated at any time with the Nottingham community".
Height: approx. 52 cm. Loose screws and a bend in one of the finials.
Provenance: donated to the Nottingham community in 1913 by Gustave Meyer, in memory of his father David Meyer, president of the Jewish community at Nottingham in the years 1869-1881.
Exhibition: Nottingham Castle Museum, Nottingham, ca. 1990.
Silver, pierced, embossed, engraved and chased; parcel-gilt. Each of the finials is marked (stamps of the city and the goldsmith) three times.
Large, impressive finials, decorated with rocaille ornaments and lattice, applied cast eagles and pendent bells. Each finial is surmounted by an orb and bell-hung crown. Each finial is comprised of a central shaft and seven sections.
We know of two single (different) finials for a Torah scroll made by the goldsmith Christian Ludwig Pintsch; one is documented in the book by Wolfgang Schefller, Berliner Goldschmiede (Berlin, 1968), item no. 625; the other appeared in Sotheby's catalogue NO8814 (December 14, 2011), item 35.
The style of the present finials is known from other early German finials, such as a pair of finials created between 1716-1725 by the goldsmith Frantz Wagner (see: Die Goldschmiede Hamburgs, Erich Schliemann, 1985, no. 835). Another pair, similar in style, was made by the goldsmith Hans Cordt Albert Barckhan between 1760 and 1770 (see ibid., no. 838). A third pair, from the collection of the Jewish Museum in New York, was created by the goldsmith August Ferdinand Gentzmer in ca. 1789 (see Crowning Glory, Grafman, no. 260).
These finials were donated to the Nottingham Jewish community in 1913, along with a Torah scroll pointer (see next item) and 200 pounds sterling, by Gustav Meyer from Stockholm, in memory of his father, David Meyer, who served as minister of the Nottingham Jewish community between 1858 and 1868 and as president of the community in the years 1869-1881. David Meyer was even among the founders and staff of the innovative Jewish school in his community. When he resigned from his public roles and a farewell ceremony was held in his honor, Meyer was described as "One of the finest men that has been associated at any time with the Nottingham community".
Height: approx. 52 cm. Loose screws and a bend in one of the finials.
Provenance: donated to the Nottingham community in 1913 by Gustave Meyer, in memory of his father David Meyer, president of the Jewish community at Nottingham in the years 1869-1881.
Exhibition: Nottingham Castle Museum, Nottingham, ca. 1990.