A highly important Galician silver, silver-gilt... Lot 6

A highly important Galician silver, silver-gilt enamel and niello Torah shield, circa 1770 The entire plate is decorated with elegant blue and green enamelled floral motifs. Three central parts are decorated with very fine niello work. A Torah ark is represented in the centre, of which doors are decorated with the Showbread and the Menorah, both used in the Temple of Jerusalem. The extremely gifted silversmith combined different techniques such as enamel and niello with the more traditional approach of crafting Torah shields in Galicia. The result is an absolutely breath-taking, harmonious and refined masterpiece. No other Torah shield combining all such techniques is known to date. Early 19th century Lemberg tax mark on the chain. H_16 cm L_14 cm (6 ¹⁹/₆₄ x 5 ³³/₆₄ in)