Berber Brocaded Torah Cover with Inscription

Dedicated, inscribed, given. In Morocco’s Jewish communities, a Torah was dressed with the best cloth a family could find.

Covers were often gifts, with dedicatory inscriptions. This one is velvet, attributed to Berber makers, 20th century. Deep burgundy, bordered all around with a fringe of red and cream. Across the lower portion runs a panel in metallic gold thread: two lions flanking a tree-like form, seven-branched menorahs at either side, several lines of Hebrew beneath. A smaller embroidered band sits at the top. Thirty-seven by forty-nine inches.

Soft wear, some fading. Velvet remembers being touched.