CEDARHURST, N.Y. — At J. Greenstein & Co.’s pre-Chanukah auction on December 12, an early parcel gilt silver torah crown, dating from around 1800 from the Nasielsk community in Poland, sold for $60,000 including the buyer’s premium. Although the buyer wishes to remain anonymous, the 9 1/5 inch crown is going to a private collection.

Set on a silver base decorated with alternating stags and lions flanking a crown, the lower ribs are decorated with applied lattice work, holding up a second crown topped with a bid. The upper band is engraved in Hebrew, “This crown belongs to Abraham, Jacob Issachar’s son from the Nasielsk community.”

Nasielsk is a small town in the district of Pultusk, Warsaw province, where, in the late Seventeenth Century, one of the most beautiful wooden synagogues was built for the some 1,000 Jews who lived there. It was so magnificent that it was mentioned in the first official inventory of architecturally important buildings in Poland.

The auction included over 350 lots of rare Jewish antiques from Europe and the Middle East, with items from two important collections. A full review of the sale will be in a future issue.