Torah scroll case (Tik)

This hard sided tik, or Torah scroll container, is representative of the type used in the Sephardic tradition. Fashioned of wood or metal, the hard construction made it easy to transport and provided more protection for the Torah than the Ashkenazi cloth mantle (see an example from the permanent collection on the other side of this gallery). This particular tik was made in Baghdad in the early twentieth century, a city famous for its metalwork.