A PAIR OF FRENCH SILVER TORAH FINIALS

hexagonal three-tiered Gothic form, with gilt bells and pineapple finials, the staves with presentation inscription.

The staves are inscribed in French, "Offered by Madame Furtado to the Temple in Besançon on the occasion of its inauguration, 14 Kislev [5]630."

One top pineapple finial not as well chased as the other, possibly a cast replacement; One missing two bells, minor bruises, otherwise good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

These finials were almost certainly donated by Madame Rose Furtado (c. 1800-1870); the following year, she or her estate gave a Torah shield and pair of finials by Maurice Mayer in the collection of the Consistoire de Paris (Victor A. Klagsbald, Jewish Treasures from Paris: From the Collections of the Cluny Museum and the Consistoire, no. 32, p. 25).

The Foulds had been part of the Jewish community of Metz since the late 17th century, and her father  Berr Léon Fould worked with Cerf Berr of Nancy, described as "the greatest Jewish merchant and businessman in the east of France."  Going as his manager to Paris just before the Revolution, Fould became mayor of Rocquencourt, and laid the foundations of the family fortune, which would see l'Hotel Fould, Rue Bergère, became one of the centers of Parisian life under Louis-Philippe.  Rose's brother Achille Fould served the July Monarchy, but rose to even greater prominence as Minister of Finance and Minister of State under Napoleon III.  In 1820 Rose Fould married banker Elie Furtado (1796-1867), son of the Rabbi of Bayonne and representative of that community to the Consistoire Central in Paris.  Their daughter Cécile Fould-Furtado Heine became a noted philanthropist.

Maurice Mayer, who proudly signed himself "Goldsmith to Emperor Napoleon III,"  was born in 1801, established his firm in 1839, and registerd his own mark in 1846.  He was working then at 20 rue Vivienne, but later signs himself at 362 rue St. Honoré, and in 1870 at 18 rue Lafayette.  In 1844 he won a silver medal at the "Exposition des produits de l'industrie," where he showed a race cup from a model by Klagmann, offered by James de Rothschild as a prize for the Jockey Club in 1836 (Anne Dion-Tenenbaum, Orfèvrerie française du XIXe siècle: La Collection du Musée du Louvre, p. 157).  He showed at the Exposition of 1849, a mounted carved ivory cup, was named "Fournissuer de l'Empereur" in 1853, and contributed again to the Exhibition Universelle, Paris, in 1855.  The Consistoire of Paris has three Torah shields and a pair of finials by Mayer (Klagsbald, op. cit., nos. 32, 40, and 43).  Additionally, an Omer Calendar with his mark is in the collection of the Skirball Museum, illustrated New Beginnings, plate 24, p. 44.