Ora Berger אורה ברגר The jewellery of the Jewish bride in Sana'a as a cultural and artistic message – the 18th century

new article: The Earliest Known San’a Hebrew Illuminated Pentateuch, San’a, Yemen, 1206 CE (JTS L64, L64a)

The Jubilee Volume in honor for Prof. Yosef Tobi , entitled: Ayelet Oettinger & Danny Bar-Maoz (eds.), Mittuv Yosef, Yosef  Tobi Jubilee Volume. (3 volumes). Haifa, was published and its volume II [the non Hebrew volume], pp. xviii-xlv, includes my article: The Earliest Known San’a Hebrew Illuminated Pentateuch, San’a, Yemen, 1206 CE (JTS L64, L64a).
(Pictures from the article available here).

Yemenite Hebrew Illuminated Bibles from Yemen are famous, however, those from the thirteen century were not researched yet. The aim of this article is in respect of the earliest known Illuminated Pentateuch, San’a 1206, now in the JTS, New York, L64 & L64a. I wish to shed light on its art program, from both Jewish and Islamic art in Yemen, as well as, its relationship with the art of the Cairo Geniza Community.

Although L64 & L64a are documented in the Lutzki catalog, which is the inside catalog of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, (henceforth JTS), the art program was never researched.

The Earliest Known San’a Hebrew Illuminated Pentateuch, San’a, Yemen, 1206 CE (JTS L64, L64a), is much earlier than the well known ”The San’a Pentateuch”, San’a 1469, now in The British Library, London, MS Or. 2348.

The art programs of the two were never juxtaposed and / or compared. I intend to do that in a different article.