Plate with a Menorah and Torah Shrine

4th–7th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
An incised menorah and a Torah shrine are found on this plate’s rim. They resemble depictions in Samaritan synagogue art, suggesting that the piece may have originated in a Samaritan context. Olive twigs—a common motif in Samaritan, but not Jewish, art—flank the shrine.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Plate with a Menorah and Torah Shrine
  • Date: 4th–7th century
  • Geography: Made in Israel, found at Naanah
  • Medium: Bronze, incised decoration
  • Dimensions: Diam: 19 11/16 in. (50 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités Orientales, Paris (AO 1265)
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters