A Silk Brocade and Velvet Torah Ark Curtain with a Matching Valance (Parokhet and Kapporet) [Bohemia], 1798

Curtain (95 x 65 in.; 2413 x 1650 mm); Valance 15 x 65 in.; 380 x 1650 mm). Silk Brocade with a central velvet panel embroidered with metallic thread and metallic ribbon. Lightly stained, especially on lower right central panel, a few splits in the silk along the vertical folds.

Kybalova, Ludmila, Eva Kosakova and Alexandr Putik. Textiles from Bohemian and Moravian Synagogues from the Collections of the Jewish Museum in Prague, Prague. 2003

The Torah Ark curtain which is hung before the Torah Ark serves as a partition between the Ark and the prayer hall. The Hebrew term parokhet is based on its identification with the curtain, parokhet, which separated the holy section of the Tabernacle and the Temple from the Holy of Holies (Ex. 26:31–35; 40:21). According to historical sources, the curtain became a fixture in Ashkenazic synagogues during the Middle Ages. Torah Ark curtains were often donated by individual members of the congregation. The present example is embellished with a Hebrew biblical verse relating to the work of the Levites and an elaborate image of a pitcher and basin (the traditional symbol of the Levites) allowing us to conclude that it was created by a congregant who was a member of that tribe. The curtain is further enhanced with a matching a valence, also known as a kapporet; a ceremonial object, which first appeared in synagogues of eastern Europe at the end of the 17^th century. The distinctive motif on the valance refer to the Tabernacle furnishings (in this example, from left to right) the showbread table, the sacrificial altar, the Ark of the Covenant the copper lavabo and the seven-branched candelabra.