AN EARLY JEWISH BONE FITTING

LATE ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.

Details

AN EARLY JEWISH BONE FITTING
LATE ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.
Sculpted with a depiction of the Torah shrine from a synagogue surrounded by Jewish symbols, the tall rectangular ark within an aedicula topped by a triangular pediment and flanked by columns, situated at the end of a long stairway, the paneled doors of the ark open, revealing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments above an open Torah scroll, an incense shovel and shofar to the left of the stairs, a lulav to the right
6¾ in. (17.1 cm.) long

Provenance

Geneva Collection of Ancient Jewish Art, collected 1960s-1980s.

Lot Essay

The Torah shrine, or ark, of a synagogue is the physical and metaphorical center of Jewish ritual. Synagogues of the Late Roman Period usually placed the ark in a niche at the front of the worship space, often at the end of several stairs (see Fine, Sacred Realm, The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World, p. 107). Depictions of the ark within an aedicula is almost ubiquitous in Jewish art of the 3rd-6th centuries, appearing primarily in mosaics, wall paintings and catacomb reliefs. Miniature representations of a Torah shrine, such as the present example, are far more rare.

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