Two Embroidered Torah Binders (Wimpels), Germany, 1749 and 1752

It was the custom of German Jews to donate a Torah binder (also known as a wimpel) on a boy’s first visit to the synagogue. The decorated binder, sewn from strips of swaddling cloth used at his circumcision, contained the child’s name, date of birth, and the wish that he grow up to study the Torah, get married, and perform good deeds. This lot comprises two beautifully embroidered binders apparently created for two brothers. The elaborate imagery embroidered on these binders includes representations of an open Torah scroll; a couple standing under a wedding canopy; and the appropriate signs of the zodiac: on the first binder, Gemini (twins), the sign associated with the Hebrew month of Sivan, and on the second binder, Pisces (a pair of fish), the sign associated with the Hebrew month of Adar.

1. Elijah ben Asher (known as Anshel), born on Sunday, 15 Sivan 5509 (1749). Linen embroidered with multicolored silk thread (7 x 141 in.); scattered light stains.

2. Nathan (known as Nata) ben Asher (known as Anshel), born on Friday, 14 Adar 5512 (1752). Linen embroidered with multicolored silk thread (7 1/2 x 152 in.); scattered light stains.

Literature

Annette Weber, Evelyn Friedlander, and Fritz Armbruster (eds.), Mappot--Blessed Be Who Comes: The Band of Jewish Tradition (Osnabrück, Germany: Secolo Verlag, 1997).