Wrapping cloth for a Torah Scroll case and a cloth, with embroidered decorations. [Tunisia, probably Djerba, early 20th century].
Two embroidered textile items, donated to the synagogue in memory of Mordechai Djeribi son of Israel and Azuna, who died young. Apparently the embroidery was made by his mother.
1. Wrapping cloth for a Torah Scroll case.
Crimson silk velvet, mixed gold embroidery; Jap gold embroidery on a base of threads, sequins and silver spiral threads.
Broad rectangular cover made of crimson velvet. Divided into three panels: the right and left panels display a sumptuous, meticulously made embroidery in vegetal patterns, with long branches and flowers and two pairs of birds. On the central panel is an embroidered Hebrew dedication inside a horseshoe-shaped frame: "Donated by M. Dj., Israel and Azuna, in memory of their son Mordechai Djeribi, may his soul rest in peace". Frame in repetitive pattern of birds and geometric and vegetal decorations.
50X112. Good condition. Suspension loops on upper part. Some wear to velvet. Light unraveling to margins. Framed (unexamined out of frame).
2. Embroidered Cloth (Mappah) for a Torah Scroll.
Double-sided Jap gold embroidery on pink and light-blue silk satin.
Designed as a long rectangular fabric, reminiscent of the head scarves of Tunisian women. Decorations in vegetal and geometric patterns. In the center is an embroidered dedication in Hebrew: "May his soul rest in peace, in memory of the unfortunate, deceased at a young age, Mordechai son of Azuna and Israel Djeribi".
38X120 cm. Good condition. Light stains and damage.
See: Bracha Yaniv, "Rikmat Nedava…", in "Ishah ba-Mizrah, ishah mi-Mizrah, Sipurah shel ha-Yehudiyah bat ha-Mizrah" [Women in the East, Women of the East - the Story of the Eastern Jewess]. Hebrew (eds.: Tova Cohen and Shaul Regev), Bar Ilan University Press, 2005, pp. 87-107 (photographed on p. 98).
Provenance: Willy Lindwer collection.