Creator Bio
Shalom Italia
1619–1655
Engraver, etcher, and draftsman Shalom Italia was, as his name indicates, from Italy, where his family worked in the Mantua printing industry. However, probably attracted by the opportunities in the growing metropolis, he made his way to Amsterdam by 1641. Among Shalom Italia’s works are illustrated ketubot (marriage contracts), book illustrations, and portraits of the community’s leading figures, such as Menasseh Ben Israel, who was the founder of Amsterdam’s first Hebrew printing press and an advocate for the readmission of Jews to England.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Portrait of Menasseh Ben Israel
Born to converso parents and baptized as Manoel Dias Soeiro, Menasseh Ben Israel moved as a boy with his family to Amsterdam, where they reverted openly to Judaism. In 1626, he established the first…
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Ketubah for Isaac Pereira and Rachel de Pinto
This ketubah was written and illustrated for the wedding of Isaac Pereira and Rachel de Pinto, members of prominent Sephardic families. At the top a pair of hands clasp, and vignettes along the sides…
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Esther Scroll
The book of Esther is chanted aloud from a scroll (megillah) on the holiday of Purim. This example from the Netherlands is lavishly decorated, with the Hebrew text framed by arcades between which are…
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Portrait of Jacob Judah Leon Templo
This is one of three known portraits of Jacob Judah Leon Templo, who was famous for his elaborate wooden model of the Temple of Solomon, which he turned into a traveling exhibition and showed and…
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Ketubah of Isaac de Pinto and Rahel Rovigo
In 1654, Rahel bat Hannah Rovigo married Isaac ben Abraham de Pinto, a member of a prosperous Jewish family of merchant bankers in Amsterdam. The ketubah (marriage contract), which outlines the…
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Melits yosher (Upright Advocate)
This introduction will speak about how important the person is through the Torah. One may read them, since there are many teachings with intentions inside. The teaching of the Lord is…