Torah finials

This rimon pair from 1602 with inscriptions is the second oldest Torah finial known today in the world. The object is a characteristic product of the Ottoman-Turkish coppersmith’s art, and thus probably an artifact of the Sephardic Jewish tradition. On the top of the pomegranate there is an inscription naming the donor: “Tsvi Hirsch, the son of David, in 362 according to the minor era”, which is an Ashkenazi name, implying that the object was probably used in a place where the two major Jewish traditions, the Sephardic and Ashkenazi met.