Parochet

The parochet or curtain of the Torah curtains off the holy cupboard in which the Torah is kept in a synagogue. Often the parochet will contain an inscription concerning the donor, which is important for the dating. Silk fabrics of an earlier date were often used for the making of a parochet, often of costly women’s dresses. The specimen on show consists of two kinds of multicoloured bound silk; motifs of small floral bouquets and undulating floral sprigs are characteristic of the second half of the 18th century, while the text applied to the fabric dates the parochet to 1816/1817. Both silk fabrics have motifs of vertical or diagonal winding floral branches and bands that is characteristic of the late Rococo. In the upper part white and black silk with a Hebrew inscription concerning the donor in gold embroidery has been inserted.