Embroidered Velvet Cover for Reader's Desk - Dedication of Gabriel Adutt "For the Synagogue which My Father Built" ...

Embroidered Velvet Cover for Reader's Desk - Dedication of Gabriel Adutt "For the Synagogue which My Father Built" - 1853
Embroidered velvet cover for the reader's desk, donated by Gabriel Adutt to the synagogue built by his father. [Vienna?], 1853.
Velvet; metallic and polychrome embroidery on cardboard cutouts; metal appliqué; metallic fringe.
Olive velvet cover, with metallic and polychrome embroidery in foliate, floral and star patterns, bordered with metallic fringe. At the center of the cloth, an embroidered dedication attesting that the cover was donated to the synagogue of the father of the donor, Gabriel Adutt: "With help of G-d / Here for the synagogue which my father built with joy / I brought a gift for the cover of the Teiva / To be a son who brings joy to his father I wished / Since I know how much he desires to beautify mitzvot / From his son Gabriel Adutt / 1853".
The inscription is surrounded by a fine border, topped with a Torah crown made of velvet and fabric ribbons, metal appliqué, silver embroidery and sequins.
The Adutt family, of which several members were named Gabriel, was one of the prominent families of the Sephardi community in Vienna. Renowned members of the family bearing this name include Refael Gabriel Adutt (d. 1859), and Gabriel (ben) Chaim Adutt (1833-1904).
The first Sephardi Jews to settle in Vienna are mentioned in written sources already in the 17th century. In 1718, the Treaty of Passarowitz was signed between the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Republic of Venice. The peace treaty granted the citizens of the countries included in the treaty unrestricted movement and the right to trade, throughout the territory of these countries. Thus, Jews from the Ottoman Empire were allowed to trade and sojourn throughout the Habsburg Kingdom, although Austrian Jews were not allowed to live in Vienna. Some Austrian Jews therefore even immigrated to Turkey, to obtain Ottoman documents, and later enjoy better conditions upon their return to Vienna. Thus, the number of "Turkish" Jews in the city rose, most of whom were indeed Sephardi. Towards the end of the 18th century, the authorities officially recognized the "Turkish" Sephardi community in Vienna, in a document from 1778 known as "Punkten" (Points), and in 1796, they were allowed to become citizens of the Habsburg kingdom.
Approx. 116X74 cm (including fringe). Fair-good condition. Tears and open tears, mostly to lining. Stains and rubbed areas to velvet. Fraying. Unskilled repairs. Damaged and missing decorations; bends to metal parts.