Jewish ceremonial objects—collectively referred to as Judaica—that survive from early modern Italy highlight the vibrant Jewish life from that period and region, even if Jews were generally restricted from producing these works. Historically, Jewish communities in Italy comprised three main ethnic groups: Italianate, Sephardic, and Ashkenazic Jews. Italianate Jews, descendants of Jewish families in the Roman empire, were the earliest Jews to reside in Italy. In the late Middle Ages, Ashkenazic Jews sought refuge in Italy from persecutions in cities along the Rhine River in Western Germany, in Northern France, and later, in the mid-seventeenth century, in Eastern Europe. Sephardic Jews, who came from the Iberian Peninsula and the Ottoman empire, moved to Italy in large numbers after the Expulsion of Spain in 1492. The first Jewish ghetto, called the New Ghetto (Ghetto Nuovo), was established in Venice in 1516, and subsequent ghettos were created across the Italian peninsula throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. Jews of different ethnicities populated ghettos in major Italian city-states, such as Rome, Venice, Florence, and Padua.
Even if imposed, the cohesiveness of ghetto life provided a framework for flourishing Jewish communities. In each ghetto, Jews established synagogues as community spaces in which to gather, study, pray, and celebrate through the practice of rituals. The synagogue was the heart of Jewish life in Italy, and ceremonial objects were central to Jewish practice. The Torah, which contains the five books of the Hebrew Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—is the key ritual object in Jewish ceremonial life. The Torah narrates the history of the Israelites and serves as a guide for standards and laws for Jewish practice. Weekly portions of the Torah are read publicly in synagogues across Jewish communities throughout the world. When not read on the central reading platform (bimah), the Torah is stored in a Torah ark (18.145.1a,b) within the synagogue.
Adornments are used to signal the Torah’s holy presence, glorify the sacredness of the text, beautify a ritual commandment (hiddur mitzvah), and protect the parchment scroll. Major holidays and ceremonial milestones in Jewish life were—and still are—opportunities to dress the Torah scroll with even more elaborate items. While the form and appearance of these adornments varies from one community to another, there are several common objects. Wooden staves (called “trees of life,” or atzei hayyim) attach to the Torah scroll like handles for support. They accommodate the scroll’s shifting proportions and allow the leader of the services (shaliach tzibbur) to easily unroll the parchment to the designated Torah portion. The staves can be embellished with finials (rimmonim) and bells, which are used to signal the presence of the Torah in its procession from the ark to the reading platform. They may also reference the bells that adorned the hem of the High Priest’s robe in the ancient Temple described in the Book of Exodus, 22: 33–34.
A crown is placed over the two staves as a symbol of the Torah’s royalty. One such crown in The Met collection (2013.443), as well as its corresponding finials (2016.416, .417), was made by Andrea Zambelli “L’Honnesta” circa 1773–75 in Venice, which was a popular city for Judaica production, especially in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. These Torah adornments show distinctive Judaic motifs, including priestly clothing and ritual implements from the ancient Temple (2019.66.1a–o–.95), such as the menorah and the Tablets of Law that are chiseled with the Ten Commandments. The magnificent craftsmanship is also rendered with rocaille shells and floral decoration of the period. For another type of finials, from a different region and period, see The Met’s Torah finials (2013.444.1, .2), which were influenced by different architectural styles of the time—Ottoman-esque stylistic elements fused with neo-Gothic architectural details—and feature Hebrew inscriptions, including a memorial dedication, biblical verses, and selections from ethical teachings (“Ethics of the Fathers”).
Other Torah adornments include a pointer (literally “hand,” or yad) that allows the reader to follow the text and also prevents contact with the holy parchment, and a shield (tass) that announces the Torah portion being read to the congregation. Individuals could also follow the public Torah reading with their own personalized Torah covers, such as this book cover (2017.59). Many book covers were given as gifts to brides and grooms on the occasion of a Jewish wedding (17.190.996). Other objects for the Torah include a mantle (meil) or case (tik) that covers the body of the Torah; a curtain (parochet) that covers the exterior of the Torah ark; and a binder (2013.1143), which holds the Torah scroll in place within the ark. Full sets of these Torah adornments are seen in Jewish life by circa 1600.
Synagogues, with the help of individuals or families, often commissioned ceremonial objects for Jewish rituals, and prominent Jews also donated pieces of Judaica to their congregations. Ceremonial objects were made for use in the home too, such as this Hanukkah lamp (2018.89), which was commissioned by members of the prominent Baraffael family, who were international spice traders and patrons of Judaica. The family also commissioned several other ceremonial objects and donated these pieces to the Scola Nuova synagogue in Rome. Family crests are often seen on Italian Judaica. This same lamp, for example, features the crest of the Baraffael family: a rooster holding a stalk of wheat in its beak, with its tail feathers bent upward. Different types of objects were often personalized with inscriptions and decorations such as this gilded silver cup (17.190.575a, b). Pieces of Judaica made today continue to incorporate these individualized features.
Although Jewish patrons commissioned Judaica from both Jewish and Christian craftsmen, most surviving Jewish ceremonial objects from early modern Italy were made by Christian craftsmen. After the Counter-Reformation, Jews were restricted by Catholic Italy from choosing a profession or craft, especially metalwork, which required official guild membership. This restriction varied, and certain city-states—such as Florence, Mantua, and Piedmont—were less stringent, allowing Jews to practice specific crafts. A Christian craftsman in early modern Italy would have made liturgical objects for both Jews and Christians, and thus much crossover can be seen in the ornamentation of these objects. Pieces of Judaica from the period integrate artistic elements from the broader culture, seen in the incorporation of Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical stylistic attributes such as rocaille shells and floral decorations, among others. Because Jewish patrons were often commissioning Christian craftsmen to produce Judaica, a certain degree of collaboration took place, suggested by Hebrew inscriptions and Judaic motifs on these objects.
Textiles also evince varying degrees of Jewish involvement and integration within Italian culture. In 1613, a Jewish silk guild was established in the northern city of Ferrara and became a notable site for textile production. Jewish women would often donate textiles to their synagogues in dedication of a male relative in honor of a major milestone. This practice was so widespread that synagogues added a special acknowledgment of “every daughter of Israel who makes a mantle or cover in honor of the Torah” as part of the benediction after Torah reading on Sabbath and festivals. As noted in its Hebrew inscription, a Torah binder in The Met collection (2013.1143) was given by (and possibly made by) Miriam Foa to her husband, Abraham (Avram), in 1615–16 (the Hebrew year 5376). The floral embroidery in this textile can also be seen in contemporaneous Italian textiles (2002.494.96).
After the fall of the Medicis in 1737 and the rise of the House of Lorraine, fewer restrictions were imposed and Jews were granted more freedom to practice professions, crafts, and social and ritual activities. Throughout the eighteenth century, Jewish involvement in the crafts and the production of ceremonial objects greatly increased. Still, more stringent policies did endure, for instance, in Rome and the Papal States, where the rules governing Jewish participation in crafts remained rigid into the eighteenth century.
Silver works of art, including many pieces of Judaica, were often melted down in times of war, expulsion, and financial hardship. Jewish ceremonial objects were also frequently repurposed to create new works of art detached from their original ritual function. These losses account for the absence of a consistent narrative of Judaica, particularly before the sixteenth century. Yet the works that do survive illuminate how art and artistry—exhibiting both Judaic motifs and Italianate stylistic attributes—enriched Jewish life and liturgy in early modern Italy.