An unusual pictorial depiction of the Decalogue Possibly Italy, 18th Century

The present lot, painted in ceremonious colours of dark red and deep gold, depicts the Decalogue and two elegant crowns enclosed in an architectural frame and surmounted by undulating clouds bearing the Tetragrammaton.

It is a beautifully rendered canvas in which the artist captures the essence of the symbolism. A fundamental motif in Jewish art, the crown glorifies the Torah and is depicted twice within niches separated by Corinthian columns. The cloud appears as a visible sign of God's presence at Har Sinai and here, evokes the biblical passage "And Moses went up into the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. And the glory of the Lord rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days: on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud" (Exodus 24: 15-16).

Other examples from Italy in which this composition is found include an eighteenth century Torah mantle from the Sassoon Family Estate which was sold in our Tel Aviv saleroom (April 9, 1999, lot 24) and two Torah Ark curtains, both from Venice, seventeenth century which are held in the Jewish Museum, New York. A further Torah Ark curtain is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, probably Venice, 1676.