A Bezalel Wool Rug, Jerusalem circa 1910

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

18 by 70 in.
46 by 170 cm.

woven in tones of beige, gold, green, and blue with a silhoutted panorama view of Jerusalem superimposed by Art Nouveau menorahs, the borders with stars of David enclosing the Hebrew word Zion, signed "Bezalel Jerusalem"

Exhibited

Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Bezalel 1906-1929, December 1982-June 1983

Literature

Anton Felton, Jewish Carpets, Suffolk, 1997, no. 29, p. 96 (illustrated)

Catalogue Note

This lovely carpet illustrates Bezalel's eclectic approach, bridging the past and present, the East and West. The design, influenced by the Art Nouveau trends in Europe, incorporates fluid, intertwining lines and a balanced composition. The golden colour scheme evokes the warm sunlight of Eretz Israel, as well the biblical passage commanding the artisan Bezalel to create the tabernacle's menorah from pure gold: "And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made" (Exodus 25:31).

The Jerusalem skyline, albeit not exact, is set behind a triad of menorahs. The menorah is rich in meaning; a prevalent symbol of eternal light which has maintained its central position in Jewish tradition for centuries, in ancient and modern Israel and throughout the Diaspora.