A Jewish antiquarian discovery of unusual interest has just been made in England, the “Times” states to-day. A London bookseller who was attending a sale at Chillingham Castle took it into his head to inspect the servants’ quarters. His attention was here attracted by a somewhat ornate cupboard, of unusual design, which was being used as a wardrobe in the steward’s room. Inspecting it more closely, he noticed that it was surmounted by an inscription in Hebrew characters. For the sake of sentiment he purchased it, had it dismantled, and brought it back to London. Here, in his warehouse, it was cleaned of some again, and submitted to an expert examination. The object turned out to be an Ark of the Law of unique magnificence, dating back for over 300 years, and obviously once used in some synagogue in the South of Europe.
The workmanship is of the high baroque period, of the second half of the sixteenth century, and may be dated about 1575. The style is North Italian, probably Venetian, and the general style is that characteristic of the Venetian synagogues.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
