Of substantial weight, in traditional Polish style the ribs applied with scrolling foliage set with gilt flowerheads, the shoulder with spread wing birds, the crown-form top supported by lions rampant , the base band with cartouches chased with a lion with the Tablets, a lion under a tree, an eagle displayed and a deer in the woods, also applied with a presentation plaque with inscription party in blue enamel, hung with three rows of gilt bells
Catalogue note:
The inscription reads: “Torah crown from the Mishnah Society of Beth David-Anshei Sfard Synagogue, 157 Chalkstone Avenue, Providence, R.I.”
The Jewish community of Providence traces its origins to the nineteenth century, when European Jewish merchants of various kinds settled in the city’s Smith Hill and North End neighborhoods. Toward the end of the century, the area saw an influx of Eastern European Jewish refugees, so that from 1890 to 1895, the number of Jewish families increased 131 percent. These immigrants organized a number of synagogues and mutual aid societies, including the Hevrah Mishnayot ve-Ein Ya’akov, founded in 1906 with the mission of studying one chapter of Mishnah and a few pages of Ein Ya’akov every day.
Originally affiliated with Congregation Kesher Israel, it eventually became associated with Congregation Beth David, also known as the Russian Shul, located on Chalkstone Avenue. The building was demolished and the congregation moved to nearby Oakland Avenue in the 1950s, followed by a merger with Temple Beth Am of Warwick in the 1980s.
For more information, see:
Katrina Avery, “Formerly Beth David-Anshei Kovno Congregation/Currently Gospel Tabernacle Outreach Ministries, ” Rhode Tour, accessed May 22, 2022,
https://rhodetour.org/items/show/250.
https://rhodetour.org/items/show/250.
Beryl Segal, “The Pinkas, ” Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes 1,3 (June 1955): 183-226, available at: http://www.rijha.org/wp-content/uploads/RIJH-Notes/Notes%20PDF/Notes%201.3%20June%201955.pdf.
Karen Lee Ziner, “Heartbreaking, ” The Providence Journal (March 13, 2016), available at:
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2016/03/14/hard-times-for-warwicks-temple-am-david/32079296007/.
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2016/03/14/hard-times-for-warwicks-temple-am-david/32079296007/.
Sold Sotheby's New York Important Judaica June 2022 lot 31 for $10,000
In good condition
123 oz, 3825 g
Height 20 ½ in. 52 cm
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פריט #142