Rimmonim (Torah Finials)

Andrew Messmer
Cincinnati, 1899
Silver and semiprecious stones, h. (each 13 in.
Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift in honor of the eightieth birthday of Isaac Mayer Wise from his students, 47.10a/b

The rollers of the Torah staves are decorated with finials called rimmonim, meaning pomegranates, a symbol of fertility. The idea of the Torah as a “tree of life” explains its connection to the pomegranate form. Rimmonim are among the oldest ornaments for the Torah. The pomegranate segments of the finials shown here are surmounted by open areas insest with dangling bells and topped by crowns set with semiprecious stones. Bells recall those that were on the bottom of the robes of the high priests in the Temple in ancient Jerusalem, intended to make their presence known to those gathered in their midst. The decorative scheme of these rimmonim complements that of the Torah Breastplate, 7.4.

Andrew Messmer is listed in the 1886 publication Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of Cincinnati and Environs: The Great Railroad Centre of the South and Southwest as a manufacturer of ornamental metal work, gold, and silver plate at 61 Coleman Street. His business was established in 1880 and employed 30 experienced workmen. The listing reads “Mr. Messmer gives special attention to the manufacture of all kinds of new church ornaments.”

Publications:
Artistic Expressions of Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, ed. Abby S. Schwartz, 1997, p. 4.