ticketsMember | Make a donation

Book cover for Pentateuch and Five Scrolls

silver: 1721–ca. 1727; book: 1699–1701 and 1700–1701
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 551
Jewish prayer books printed in "Typographical Amsterdam Hebrew Characters" were sought after in the decades around 1700 and well into the eighteenth century in Europe. Treasured and handed down all over Europe for generations by Jewish families, these books represent the learned and sophisticated standing of their owners. The utmost precious protection for the sacred text was a silver book cover. Complete ensembles are extremely rare. The goldsmith Tobias Schier was a specialist for such ostentatiously crafted silver covers. Several examples by Schier have survived and document the master’s outstanding abilities to transform the precious metals silver and gold into objects of great elegance and exuberant appearance.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Book cover for Pentateuch and Five Scrolls
  • Maker: Tobias Schier (Polish, active 1702–33)
  • Date: silver: 1721–ca. 1727; book: 1699–1701 and 1700–1701
  • Culture: German, Breslau (Wrocław)
  • Medium: Silver, chased, pierced and embossed and partially gilt
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 5 5/8 × 3 1/2 × 2 1/4 in. (14.3 × 8.9 × 5.7 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Silver, Judaica
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Ruth and Andrew Suzman Gift, 2017
  • Object Number: 2017.59
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Book cover, Silver, lined with black velvet, containing a contemporary psalter, Dutch, possibly Amsterdam
Book cover
Dutch, possibly Amsterdam
ca. 1610–20
Game table, David Roentgen German, Oak and walnut, veneered with mahogany, maple, holly (the last two partially stained); iron, steel, brass, gilt bronze; felt and partially tooled and gilded leather, German, Neuwied am Rhine
Game table
David Roentgen
ca. 1780–83
Commode à vantaux, David Roentgen German, Oak, pine, walnut, mahogany, and cherry veneered with hornbeam (partially stained), tulipwood, walnut, holly and maple (both partially stained), boxwood, mahogany, and other woods; red brocatelle marble; gilt bronze; iron, steel, and brass, German, Neuwied am Rhein
Commode à vantaux
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1775–79 with later alterations
Rolltop desk, David Roentgen German, Oak, cherry, pine, mahogany, veneered with maple, burl woods, holly, hornbeam (all partially stained), tulipwood, mahogany, and other woods; mother-of-pearl; partially gilded and tooled leather; gilt bronze, iron, steel, brass, partially gold-lacquered brass, German, Neuwied am Rhein
Rolltop desk
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1776–79
Diana and the Stag, Joachim Friess, Partially gilded silver, enamel, jewels (case); iron, wood (movement), German, Augsburg
Diana and the Stag
Joachim Friess
ca. 1620

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.