Torah coronet from a synagogue in Rhodes

Torah coronet decorated in a style typical of the Jewish communities in the Ottoman region. The coronet, customarily placed above the Torah scroll to honor it and provide it with royal adornment, was crafted in the mid-nineteenth century. A dedication inscribed on the coronet reads: “Created at the time of the exalted Patron Rabbi Raphael Moshe Israel may his Rock and Redeemer protect him and the ‘Kiaya’ [a position in the Ottoman period] the outstanding sage Yosef Tarika may his Rock and Redeemer protect him [the year] 5601 [1841]”. On the base of the coronet, is an inscription: “Made by the craftsman Yosef Memmi may the Merciful One protect and redeem him [the year] 5621 [1861]”. The Torah coronet is among the hundreds of thousands of stolen items, including Torah scrolls and Judaica, that were looted and collected together by the Nazis. The Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Organization (JCR), which operated in Germany after World War II, retrieved property stolen by the Nazis and distributed it among museums and religious institutions in Israel and the Diaspora. In this way, the Torah coronet reached the Yad Vashem Collection.