"Healthy Soul in a Healthy Body, " (Hebrew) medal for Bezalel School athletes. Relief with biblical image of Samson vanquishing the lion. Created by Ze'ev Raban and Meir Gur-Arieh, Jerusalem, [ca. 1913]. Round medallion bearing biblical image of Samson vanquishing the lion. Image encircled by two (Hebrew) inscriptions: "Healthy Soul in a Healthy Body, " and "Gymnastics Association of Bezalel." Marked (in Hebrew): "Illustration [by] Ravitzki [Raban], molded [by] Horodetsky [Gur-Arieh]." Inlaid in a round wooden frame. Alongside its art studies and its support of creative workshops and studios, the Bezalel School placed an emphasis on cultural activities, which, among other things, involved the establishment of an athletic association. The importance attached to physical fitness reflected one of the many ways in which Classical Greek concepts were adopted as part of the school's ethos, that demanded a synthesis of the plastic arts, poetry, theater, music, and sports. For another version of this medal, in bronze, see the artworks of Ze'ev Raban listed under the entry "Ze'ev Raban" in the website "Information Center for Israeli Art, " sponsored by the Israel Museum. Also see: "Ze'ev Raban: A Hebrew Symbolist, " item no. 70 (see below). Diam. (medallion): 4 cm. Good condition. Diam. (wooden frame): 11.5 cm. Good condition. References: 1. Shilo-Cohen, Nurit, "Bezalel: 1906-1929," exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1983. 2. Etty Hilevitz and Batsheva Goldman Ida, "Ze'ev Raban: A Hebrew Symbolist, " exhibition catalogue, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi (Ben Zvi Institute), Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 2001, item no. 70. Provenance: 1. Estate of Mordechai Avniel, director of the Small Sculpture Section of the Bezalel School's Sculpture Department. 2. Estate of Bezalel Avniel. 3. Private collection.

"Esther, " relief, product of Bezalel. Set in silver frame with pin on back, enabling it to be worn as a brooch. Jerusalem, [1906-29]. Relief, marked (Hebrew) "Bezalel Yerushalem"; silver frame marked on back (English) "Hand Made 925." Oval relief bearing image of the biblical Queen Esther. Another medallion bearing a cameo relief, carved from mother-of-pearl shells, with the image of Queen Esther donning a tapering head covering – a depiction very similar to the present one – appears in the Alan and Riva Slifka Collection in the Israel Museum (see below). Relief: approx. 5X3.5 cm. Darkening. Good condition. Silver frame: approx. 5X4.5 cm. Good condition. Reference: Chaya Benjamin (ed.), "Early Israeli Arts and Crafts, Bezalel Treasures from the Alan B. Slifka Collection in the Israel Museum, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2008, p. 91. 1. Estate of Mordechai Avniel, director of the Small Sculpture Section of the Bezalel School's Sculpture Department. 2. Estate of Bezalel Avniel. 3. Private collection.

Moses, relief (not signed), placed on a wooden base. Profile of Moses looking left, his hand resting on the Tablets of the Law. Hebrew inscription "Moses" beneath. Relief: 6.5X5 cm. Wooden base: 15.5X10 cm. Good condition. Prevenance: 1. Estate of Mordechai Avniel, director of the Small Sculpture Section of the Bezalel School's Sculpture Department. 2. Estate of Bezalel Avniel. 3. Private collection.

Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970); sketch for "Menorah" memorial candle label. Ink and pencil on paper; stamped (Hebrew) "Ze'ev Raban, Workshop for Industrial Art (previously Gur-Arieh and Raban), Bezalel Jerusalem". The label is divided into four pointed arches, through which important sites in Palestine can be seen: the skyline of Jerusalem, Rachel's Tomb, the tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNes. The fourth arch remained empty. Topped by a medallion depicting hands spread for the priestly blessing. The "Menorah" candle factory was established in Tel Aviv in 1926 and is still producing memorial candles decorated with the same label designed by Ze'ev Raban. For the final version of the label, see Raban Remembered, p. 109. 21X33 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears, some open, to edges. One tear reinforced on verso with transparent tape. Stains. Paper strip mounted to center. Matted. Literature: Raban Remembered, Jerusalem's Forgotten Master. New York: Yeshiva University Museum, 1982. p. 109.