Gift of Marion Meyer-Robboy and Stanley Robboy in honor of Lawrence J. Wheeler, director of the North Carolina Museum of Art (1994–2018)
These finials come from a synagogue on Djerba, an island off the coast of Tunisia and home to an ancient and once thriving Jewish community. On Djerba and throughout North Africa and other Islamic lands, the sacred Torah scroll is traditionally kept in a special decorative wood case called a tik (pronounced teek), which is often topped by a coronet (similar to a crown) and ornamental finials.
The large spheres of both finials are topped by two rosettes, or rose-shaped decorations, that face each other. The bottom piece is concave (curling upward, like a bowl) and the top piece is convex (curving downward, like an open umbrella).
In addition to numerous applied filigree (lace-like dots), the spheres are adorned with many small silver dome “pearls” arranged in a planetary pattern. Each sphere is divided along its middle with a braided motif that was created using a series of twisted and straight silver threads.
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