Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
Including: Items from the Estate of Ruth Dayan, Old Master Works, Israeli Art and Numismatics
December 21, 2021
- (-) Remove carpet filter carpet
- (-) Remove jewish filter jewish
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $750
Sold for: $1,625
Including buyer's premium
Twelve rugs made at the Alliance School weaving workshop. [Jerusalem, 1900s to 1910s.]
Depicting portraits of Theodor Herzl (two rugs), Lord Arthur James Balfour (two rugs), Max Nordau (three rugs, including one double rug made of two identical rugs sewn together) High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, Haim Weizmann, a uniformed soldier (who might be Djemal Pasha – WWI-era Governor of Greater Syria, or Hussein Bey al-Husayni – Ottoman mayor of Jerusalem), and Chaim Nachman Bialik. The Bialik rug is unique in depicting a literary figure rather than a political one. Although not recorded by Felton or other authorities, its style indicates it was made by the Alliance workshop, whose output was highly influenced by its parent organization's French affiliation.
Size and condition vary.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, pp. 71-80. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $400
Sold for: $1,125
Including buyer's premium
Four pictorial rugs depicting Theodor Herzl.
1-3. Three rugs made at the Alliance school weaving workshop. [Jerusalem, post 1903 to ca. 1920.] All three depict the same image – Theodor Herzl on the famous porch, looking at crowds flocking to Jerusalem, against the rising sun. Colors and sizes differ; two rugs show Herzl's right profile and the third shows his left profile. Two rugs approx. 108x60 cm. Good condition. Stains. Losses to fringes. Suspension straps sewn to reverse upper edges. The third rug: approx. 104x44cm. Fair condition. Fraying to edges. Fringes missing. 4. Frontal profile of Theodor Herzl; with legends "If you will it, it is no dream, " and "Dr. Binyamin Herzl, Bezalel Jerusalem" (Hebrew). [Druze rug industry, Israel, 1960s.] 64x53cm. Good condition. Some stains and damage. Damage to fringe. Suspension strap sewn to reverse upper edge.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, pp. 72-73, 134. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $300
Sold for: $375
Including buyer's premium
Pictorial rug with Joseph Stalin's portrait, [USSR, 1930s]; converted into a Herzl-like portrait with a black beard painted on by an unknown hand at a later date.
The rug originally depicted Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin; rugs with his portrait were commonplace in 1930s Soviet Union. A black beard was later painted on in order to convert the portrait into a Herzl lookalike. The rug was purchased in Israel. In his book "Jewish Carpets, " Anton Felton recounts how he bought this rug "from an overbearing dealer who assured [him] it had always depicted Herzl" (p. 135). The Stalin-to-Herzl conversion may have been done simply in order to increase the rug's value after having been brought from the USSR to Israel, but it may have also been carried out still in the USSR by its original owners, who did not wish to display Stalin's portrait any more. Either way, the rug's transformation reflects the process of disillusionment experienced by Soviet Jewry from the bright hope of Communism, particularly in view of the failure of the Birobidzhan project – Stalin's plan to found an autonomous Jewish oblast in the Russian Far East. As such, the conversion of Stalin into Herzl is symbolic of the reversion of many Soviet Jews to Herzl's Zionist vision.
Wool knot-pile; cotton foundation. 82x67.5cm. Good-fair condition. Some fading. Damage to pile at painted area. Damage and stains to fringes.
Literature: 1. Anton Felton, Jewish Carpets. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, no. 63. 2. Genosse. Jude: Wir wollten nur das Paradies auf Erden [Comrade. Jew.: We Wanted Only a Paradise on Earth], exhibition catalogue. Jewish Museum, Vienna, 2017, p. 47 (illustrated).
Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $400
Sold for: $2,250
Including buyer's premium
Bezalel Pictorial rug depicting Art Nouveau candelabra and the Jerusalem skyline. Signed "Bezalel, Yerushalem". [Jerusalem, ca. 1906 to 1908.] Wool knot-pile; cotton foundation. The central panel depicts a candelabrum with intertwined branches, flanked by two identical half-hidden candelabra. A fictional Jerusalem skyline is shown in the background, with inscriptions (in Hebrew) reading "David's Citadel" and "Temple Mount" at the bottom, within the candelabra's bases. A horizontal strip beneath the candelabra contains a repeating pattern of Stars of David and the words "Bezalel" and "Jerusalem" (Hebrew). The rectangular border contains a repetitive pattern of the word "Zion" inside Stars of David. Inner border signed: "Bezalel Jerusalem".
178x42cm. Good-fair condition. Some damage and stains. Somewhat misshapen edges. Straps sewn to reverse upper and lower edges.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, p. 96. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $300
Sold for: $2,750
Including buyer's premium
Bezalel rug depicting Abraham's Tamarisk, Mount Sinai and Herzl's Cypress. Jerusalem, [ca. 1906 to 1914]. Wool knot-pile; cotton foundation. The carpet depicts a triple arch arcade. In each opening there is a symbol representing one of the forefathers of the Jewish nation and its leaders: Abraham's Tamarisk on the right, Mount Sinai in the center and Herzl's Cedar (presented here, as in many other cases, as a cypress) on the left. A decorated frame surrounds the arcade; the Hebrew inscription "Bezalel Jerusalem" appears on its lower part. In this carpet, the Bezalel designers position Herzl – both physically and metaphorically – in line with Abraham, the nation's forefather, and Moses, its biblical leader. Like Abraham's Tamarisk and Mount Sinai, which symbolizes Moses, the cedar planted by Herzl is depicted on the background of the desert. The border is inscribed "Bezalel Jerusalem."
99x64cm. Good condition. Fringe trimmed. Strap sewn to reverse upper edge.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, by Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., 1997, p. 100. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $800
Sold for: $8,125
Including buyer's premium
Pictorial rug depicting a seven-branch candelabra and the Tablets of the Law, made at Bezalel. Jerusalem, [1906 to 1914]. Wool knot-pile; cotton foundation. The central panel – the outline of which echoes that of the Tablets of the Law – displays an Art Nouveau-style candelabrum with intertwined branches, a familiar design by early Bezalel artists. Stylized base, decorated with Stars of David and 'Zion' monograms; the same inscription repeats in the border. The Tablets of the Law appear within the candelabrum's main shaft, with the word 'Zion' once again in the background. The entire central panel is strewn with small seven-branch candelabras. Signed "Bezalel Jerusalem" in the border.
104x133cm. Good condition. Minor damage. Some staining. Fringes trimmed. Somewhat misshapen. Straps sewn to upper and lower edge, on verso.
Literature: 1. Jewish Carpets, by Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, p. 95. 2. Gereh International Carpet and Textile Review, Issue 12, June 1997, p. 8. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $250
Sold for: $1,750
Including buyer's premium
Small pictorial rug depicting the Bezalel School building. Bezalel, Jerusalem, [1908 to 1914]. Silk knot-pile; silk foundation. Central panel depicting the Bezalel School building, with the wall inscribed: "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship" (Exodus 31:3). Two panels on both sides depict a candelabrum each. Wide border, with repeating monograms of the word ‘Zion.'
Approx. 58x27cm. Fair condition. Stains. Dark colors. Fraying to edges. Loss to pile.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, by Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., 1997, p. 105. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $300
Sold for: $3,000
Including buyer's premium
Pictorial rug depicting Rachel's tomb and two candelabra. Marbadiah by Bezalel, Jerusalem, [1920s]. Wool knot-pile; cotton foundation. Central panel depicting the edifice built around the matriarch's tomb, flanked by two candelabra, each in a separate panel. Border with repeating monograms of the word ‘Zion.' Legend: "Tomb of Rachel" (Hebrew). Signed: "Marbadiah, Palestine" and "Jerusalem" (Hebrew).
120x55cm. Good condition. Fading. Stains. Some fraying. Straps sewn to reverse upper and lower edges.
Reference: Jewish Carpets, by Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club Ltd., 1997, p. 111. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue
Auction 84 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
December 21, 2021
Opening: $800
Sold for: $1,000
Including buyer's premium
Geometric rug depicting Stars of David, made at the Marbadiah Workshop. Jerusalem, [1920s]. Central panel with repeating pattern consisting of Stars of David in hues of red and blue. The rug was cut from a longer runner and finished (presumably by Marbadiah), as indicated by the visible seam and color differences. Signed in the border "Marbadiah Jerusalem."
Approx. 124x77cm. Good condition. Some damage and repairs. Fringe trimmed. Uneven edges.
Literature: Jewish Carpets, by Anton Felton. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 1997, p. 116. Provenance: The Anton Felton Collection.
Category
Jewish Carpets
Catalogue