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Auction 11 · Lot 304
PAIR OF GILT WOODEN SYNAGOGUE LIONS. American, ca. 1930.
- Estimate
- $700–$1,000
- Hammer price
- $1,300
Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.
Description
Carved wooden lions, with red open mouths, flank a white Decalogue with intitial Hebrew words and gilt rosettes, topped by painted and gilt crown. A wooden bar supports the entire piece at its base; also reinfored by wooden rods at the back. The entire piece, excluding the crown, was carved from a single board.
H: 550 x1120mm. The lions were originally colored; the gilding was added.
summary
These lions would have been placed atop the Torah Ark. A similar carved synagogue ornament, with even more ferocious lions, can be seen in Ungerleider, p. 220.