A Carved Gilt Wood Synagogue Panel Enframing a Decorated Shivviti, Poland, 19th century

This intricately-carved gilt wooden panel features a decorative plaque, known as a shivviti, which takes its name from the first word of the biblical verse “I have set [shivviti] God before me always” (Ps. 16:8), inscribed at the top of the document. During the nineteenth century, it became a common practice to place such plaques in synagogues to serve as a visual and textual reminder of the constant presence of God. In the Ashkenazic synagogues of Eastern and Central Europe, the shivviti was often affixed within a wooden frame to the ammud (lit. “pillar”), a ☂lectern for the pr𒁏ayer leader set near the Torah ark.

Physical Description

25 1/2 x 25 in.; 645 x 635 mm.