Description
Book SynopsisArs Judaica is an annual publication of the Department of Jewish Art at Bar-Ilan University. It showcases the Jewish contribution to the visual arts and architecture from antiquity to the present from a variety of perspectives, including history, iconography, semiotics, psychology, sociology, and folklore. As such it is a valuable resource for art historians, collectors, curators, and all those interested in the visual arts.
In this volume, Avraham Faust considers a unique phenomenon in the material culture of ancient Israel during the biblical period: pottery without painted decoration. Moshe Idel, an expert on Jewish mysticism, sheds new light on the figure of Helios in the Hammath Tiberias synagogue mosaic, comparing it to descriptions of angel ‘Anafi’el in the Heikhalot literature and medieval Kabbalistic texts. Rahel Fronda attributes a group of medieval Ashkenazi Bible manuscripts containing similar micrographic ornaments to the same scribal workshop, possibly near Würzburg. Alexander Mishory reveals a Scroll of Esther illuminated by one of the first Bezalel artists, Shmuel Ben-David, and focuses on his use of fowl and fox imagery deriving from an Arab fable. Artur Tanikowski discusses social awareness and humanist values in the work of Polish modernists of Jewish origin. The Special Item by Nurit Sirkis Bank is dedicated to hasidic wedding rings. A silver ring, square on the outside, round within, and engraved with the Hebrew letter he is understood as a symbol of unity and harmony between man and woman, the human and the Divine, nature and culture, and even good and evil.
Contributor Information:
Walter Cahn, Professor, History of Art Department, Yale University, Avraham Faust, Director, Tel 'Eton Excavations, Institute of Archaeology, Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Rahel Fronda, Hebraica and Judaica Subject Librarian, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Carole Herselle Krinsky, Professor, Art History Department, New York University, Moshe Idel, Professor, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Senior Researcher, Shalom Hartman Institute, David Malkiel, Professor, Department of Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University, Alec Mishory, independent scholar, Israel, Ilia Rodov, Lecturer, Department of Jewish Art, Bar-Ilan University, Nurit Sirkis Bank, Curator, Wolfson Museum of Jewish Art, Hechal Shlomo; doctoral candidate, Bar-Ilan University, David Stern, Professor, Jewish Studies Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, Artur Tanikowski, Graphic Department, Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw; Faculty of Humanities, Fryderyk Chopin Uiversity of Music, Warsaw; Curator, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw
Volumes of Ars Judaica are distributed by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization throughout the world, except Israel. Orders and enquiries from Israeli customers should be directed to:
Ars Judaica
Department of Jewish Art
Bar-Ilan University
Ramat-Gan 52900
Telephone: 03 5318413
Email: ajudaica@mail.biu.ac.il
Table of ContentsEditors’ NoteBRACHA YANIV, MIRJAM RAJNER, and ILIA RODOV
Decoration versus Simplicity: Pottery and Ethnic Negotiation in Early IsraelAVRAHAM FAUST
Holding an Orb in His Hand: The Angel ‘Anafi’el and a Late Antiquity Helios MosaicMOSHE IDEL
Attributing of Three Ashkenazi Bibles with Micrographic ImagesRAHEL FRONDA
A Purim Masquerade: Fowls and Foxes in Shmuel Ben David’s Illuminated Scroll of Esther (c. 1923)ALEC MISHORY
Toward the Philosophy of Work: The Late Paintings of Leopold GottliebARTUR TANIKOWSKI
Special ItemOpposites United: The Square-Round Silver Wedding RingNURIT SIRKIS BANK
Book ReviewsThe New Jewish Book HistorySarit Shalev-Eyni, Jews among Christians: Hebrew Book Illumination from Lake ConstanceDAVID STERN
Monuments of an Exotic CommunityRemnant Stones: The Jewish Cemeteries and Synagogues of Suriname: Epitaphs, eds. Aviva Ben-Ur and Rachel FrankelRemnant Stones: The Jewish Cemeteries and Synagogues of Suriname: Essays, eds. Aviva Ben-Ur and Rachel FrankelDAVID MALKIEL
Comprehensive View of Hungarian SynagoguesRudolf Klein, Zsinagógák Magyarországon 1782–1918: Fejlo˝déstörténet, tipológia és epítészeti jelentöség / Synagogues in Hungary 1782–1918: Genealogy, Typology and Architectural SignificanceCAROL HERSELLE KRINSKY
Research of Research of Jewish Art: Focusing on LithuaniaILIA RODOV
Research of Jewish Art: Art in the Ukrainian ContextILIA RODOV
Jewish Art in Modern Times: A New AppraisalSamantha Baskind and Larry Silver, Jewish Art: A Modern HistoryWALTER CAHN
