- 122
A Marbadiah Wool Rug, Jerusalem 1920's
Description
- 73 by 40 in.
- 185 by 102 cm.
Literature
Catalogue Note
The Jews of Kurdistan returned to the land of Israel from the sixteenth century on through to their final mass exodus of the 1950's and 1960's. Between 1920-1926, nearly 2000 Kurdish Jews arrived to the Holy Land, included among them highly skilled and accomplished women weavers. They brought with them a long tradition of carpet weaving and designing, having filled their former homes and synagogues with their creations. The carpet department at the Bezalel school was the perfect venue for these immigrants (mostly young girls) to make use of their craft, providing them with employment and well being in their new country.
The carpets of Kurdistan are celebrated for their delicate, harmonious designs and rich, deep colours: primarily red, dark blue, ochre and beige. The most distinctive examples combine superimposed geometric shapes, usually hexagons in contrasting colours, with interlacing floral motifs. The Kurdish carpet weavers in the Bezalel and Marbadiah workshops deftly blended these familiar weavings with a number of prominent Judaic motifs, including the Menorah and star of David to create a body of unique and inherently Jewish rugs.