AMERICAN PAINTED WOOD SYNAGOGUE ARK ORNAMENT.

Rochester, New York, c. 1930

Grandly carved, featuring central Torah crown (Hebrew letters “K.T.” for Keter Torah) surmounted by large eagle and flanked by pair of Priestly hands. The whole set on wooden base. For placement above the Ark containing the Torah Scrolls. 14.75 x 19.5 inches. Loose.

Exhibited: Jewish Museum, New York, The Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art (1984), no. 105. Eagles or other birds occasionally appear as the topmost decoration of Torah arks in both Europe and American. Cast in the role of guardian, they hover protectively over the Crown of Torah or the Tablets of the Law. This vigilant eagle, talons planted firmly, rests on a crown carved with the letters “C(rown of) T(orah)” (Ethics of teh Fathers 4:17). It came from the Field Street premises used from around 1930 to the mid-1950s by Beth Sholem, an Orthodox congregation in Rochester, New York.