Single Torah finial, from a pair of Torah finials. Bukhara / Iran, [early 20th century].
Silver, cast, engraved, pierced, and perforated.
Body in form of slightly flattened sphere, with lattice decoration in vegetal patterns; at center, a band of flowers and leaflets; above and beneath band, decorations resembling flower petals. Head with decorations in form of a flower's calyx, surmounted by cylindrical segment in turn surmounted by additional ornament. Long tapering shaft, with Hebrew dedicatory inscription: "Dedicated [by] R. Tzion son of R. Pinhas, to the elevation of the soul of his son, Abba Pinhas, may he rest in Eden."
Height: 28.5 cm. Fractures. Without chains and bells.
Purchased from Jewish family in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, September, 2005.
References: Afghanistan: The Synagogue and the Jewish Home, item no. 110; Crowning Glory, Silver Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum, New York, item nos. 438-41.