Parochet

The curtain consists of a green silk field, embroidered with silver metal thread medallions ("botech"), with a blue silk strip sewn to the upper edge bearing a Hebrew inscription embroidered in couched gold thread within six cartouches, separated by radiant rosettes. On the reverse is a lining of red cotton fabric with twelve loops for hanging. The field fabric has been reused (the medallions are cut off at the edge). The inscription is a rhymed dedicatory-memorial poem. Legible portions include: parochet (פרכת); "dedicated this to the house of prayer" (הקדיש זאת אל בית התפלה); "the dedicator and his household" (המקדיש ובני ביתו); "and Solomon son of..." (ושלמה בן..., the donor's name); a mention of the deceased, "she passed away, and a memorial stone was set for her" (נפטרה, ונצבה מצבת לה); and, twice, "in the year..." (בשנת...) with a numerical value expressed through gematria.

The object entered the museum's holdings in 1956.

Note: a parochet is a decorative curtain covering the Ark of the Covenant (Aron ha-Kodesh) — a special cabinet or niche for storing the Torah in a synagogue.