The Journey of the Dutch Silver Rimmonim to The Great Synagogue in Sydney: The Search for Australian Jewish Visual Legacy, 1838–1878

Abstract

Jewish ritual objects, Judaica, are significant for their symbolism and the meanings they convey through their use and art forms. The synagogue architecture can provide insights into a city’s past and reflect community’s aspirations. Mid-nineteenth-century Jewish heritage in Australia represents a rich historical and art historical field marked by a group of Judaica objects and synagogue architecture. Yet, the art history of Jewish Australia has, until now, remained an understudied subject. Inspired by a pair of exceptional and unattributed silver Torah finials (rimmonim in Hebrew) from The Great Synagogue in Sydney, this thesis investigates their provenance, and the emerging visual dimension of Jewish history in Australia. It offers a new context for understanding the role that visual expression played in the construction of Jewish identity. The thesis opens with an investigation of the rimmonim’s intricate provenance pointing to the late eighteenth-century Dutch silversmith and the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. The trail then vanishes until 1839, when Sydney’s Jewish leaders purchased the rimmonim in London. From this point on, the thesis examines the Jews' motivations to build a strong visual identity. It explores what inspired them in the design of Sydney’s two oldest synagogues – the York Street Synagogue (1844) and The Great Synagogue (1878). The Egyptian style of the York Street Synagogue sought to convey a message of ancient Israelites' independence. In contrast, the ornamented design of The Great Synagogue signified the merging of a new Jewish social conformity with the prevalent Victorian taste. Ultimately, this thesis instigates the method of documenting Jewish history in Australia through a visual-focused approach. It builds on the research of Australian historians, and moves into the mostly unexplored territory of Jewish art history in Australia.