Italian Gilt Leather Ark Curtain (Cordovan Leather)

This curtain (parokhet) was drawn before the holy ark (Aron Kodesh) housing the Torah scrolls in the synagogue, in memory of the veil that separated the Holy of Holies in the Temple. This type is made of embossed and gilded leather using the Cordovan leather technique (guadamecí), a craft inherited from medieval Spain and disseminated throughout modern Europe. Italian pieces deploy in relief a central niche, columns, and symbols of the Torah such as the crown and the Tablets of the Law. An object of sanctuary display, this gilt leather parokhet illustrates the application of prestigious decorative techniques to Italian synagogue art.