Showing Results 51 - 60 of 144
These small Torah finials, decorated with silver repoussé and dark and light blue enamel, originated in Persia. They are further adorned with slender flowers and graceful geometric patterns.
In Ashkenazic communities, circumcision benches with two seats were sometimes used from the nineteenth century on, one for the sandek, the godfather on whose lap the baby boy is circumcised, and one…
Jews first settled in Kaifeng, the capital of Henan province in central China, before 1127. According to scholars, they had come from India or Persia, spoke Persian, and worked as cotton dyers and…
These are modern reconstructions of the Ark of the Covenant. Chests with images on top and with carrying poles are known from ancient Egypt. The depictions of the cherubs here are based on winged…
Idol-quickening instructions, Babylonia, 6th century BCE. The “mouth-washing” ritual was a ceremony for transforming a newly manufactured idol into a living deity. The instructions include these…
Figurine of female deity, Tel Batash, 14th century BCE. Similar plaque figurines of naked women, often with breasts and genitals emphasized or with pregnant bellies, were very common in the ancient…
Figurine of calf and shrine, Ashkelon, 1600 to 1550 BCE. Some of the non-anthropomorphic figurines found at Israelite sites had religious significance, especially model shrines (such as the Model…
This bull figurine, 7 × 5 inches (17.5 cm × 12 cm), was cast in bronze with considerable detail. It combines highly realistic features—horns and ears, genitalia, legs and hooves—with more stylized…
This black stone seal, from the City of David in Jerusalem, depicts two bearded men with their hands raised in a gesture of worship, flanking an altar or pedestal. The crescents on the altar or…
Though discovered in a private home in Beersheba, this 9.5-inch-high × 11.5-inch-wide (24 cm × 29.5 cm) pot, or its contents, was probably dedicated to the sanctuary. The inscription kodesh or kadosh…
