"Menorah" – Shiviti Plaque with a Lamnatzeach menorah, also serving as an amulet. [Morocco, late 18th or early 19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

A Menorah Plaque (called a Shiviti Plaque in Europe), containing various texts and decorated brightly and with motifs characteristic of the art of the Islamic lands.

The top of the Plaque features Holy Names and the captions "Know before Whom you stand", and "I place the Lord before me always" (Shiviti). The Ten Commandments (right) and Ten Remembrances (left) appear inside four pointed and stylized horseshoe arches. The center features a large Lamnatzeach menorah, surrounded by the initial letters of Ana BeKoach, in the Temple vessels and other initials; two large vases to the right and left of the menorah are placed on birds, with bouquets of flowers emerging from them. The bottom contains four more horseshoe arches, containing: text on the Segulah of viewing the form of the menorah daily; a dedication to "the reputable, distinguished and lofty… R. Yosef Ben Zaken. May the G-d of Abraham be at his aid and protect him as a shepherd does his flock"; and an abbreviated formulation of the Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith, based on the version in the Oriental rite. In the center – between the four arches – appears an illustration of a pair of lions leaning against a palm tree. The margins are decorated with a square frame, composed of two repeating patterns – a vegetal pattern in the upper and lower margins, and a geometrical pattern in the right and left margins.

26X33.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Old damage, professionally restored (creases, folding marks and minor tears). Several dark stains, mainly to bottom third and upper corners, affecting text and illustrations. Fading of ink and paint.

Documented in Jewish Life in Morocco, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1973 (Hebrew), p. 56, No. 82 (dated to the 18th century and displayed over an entire page).