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

New Article: ANKLETS – KHALAKIL

Baessler-Archiv, volume 58, 2010, was published and pp. 53-90, includes my article: Anklets: כ‘לאכ‘ל Khalakil

Yemenite jewellery are very famous, however those from the eighteenth century are less scrutinize. In the frame of my Ph.D. dissertation I showed fourteen different types of Jewish jewellery adorned by the Jewish bride at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב the Jewish neighborhood outside San’a and Rada רדאע. That includes anklets, known as כ‘לאכ‘ל in Judeo-Yemenite script, which is the Hebrew writing of the Yemenite speaking (http://www.oraberger.co.il/phd/). Jewels in couplets, such as ankletes, hardly survived from Yemen from the eighteenth century. That turns the pair of כ‘לאכ‘ל Khalakil from 1771 / 2 by the Jewish silversmith Salem Kasil to a test case of Jewish and Yemeni Art.

This paper is concerned with an intact original pair of Khalakil that shows ostriches and fishes as its iconography. I wish to focus on that pair of stamped anklets, signed by Salem Kasil – a Jewish silversmith from Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב, the Jewish neighborhood outside San’a – as a test case of Jewish and Yemeni Art. The target is to shed light on כ‘לאכ‘ל Khalkil as a Jewish safeguard, due to its unique iconography of ostriches and fishes.

The iconography of ostirches in the context of Khalkil was never researched before and is shown here for the first time. The silversmith Salem Kasil chiseled his name סאלם קסיל in Judeo-Yemenite script on it. The tabi, which is the official stamp of the Zaydi Imam, dates it to 1771 / 2 and shows al-Mahdi as the ruling Imam. At the essence of its existence lie four questions. First, why ostriches and fishes? Second, is it a new iconography of Yemen? Third, what is the art formula of ostriches and fishes and what we can conclude out of that? Fourth, is it the same כלאכל (pl.) of the Jewish bride of the Classical Cairo Geniza Community (ninth – twelfth centuries)?

כ‘לאכ‘ל Khalakil would be examined from the point of view of art history. The basis is the crossroad of Jewish thought and Yemeni art formulas regarding ostriches and fishes at Yemen. Examples of ostriches and or fishes as a Yemeni brand in Yemenite art would be provided since Antiquity up- till the twentieth century. כ‘לאכ‘ל Khalakil present the only piece of jewel known to us today made by Salem Kasil and signed by him.

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.

new article: The Ostriches Pentateuch Rada’ (South Yemen) End of the Twelfth Century (JTS L66)

TEMA, JOURNAL OF JUDEO-YEMENITE STUDIES, No. 11, 2011, was published and includes my article: The Ostriches Pentateuch, Rada? (South Yemen) End of the Twelfth Century (JTS L66).
(Pictures from the article available here).

Ostriches are found in three Hebrew Illuminated Bibles from Yemen. Each was scribed and painted in a different town: Rada’ (רדאע), south Yemen, Aden and San’a. The fact that three different Jewish scribes in three different places in Yemen made the same art decision to paint ostriches in an Hebrew Pentateuch, clearly suggests that the idea of ostriches was important to Jews in Yemen. It is therefore not surprising that the earliest Jewish art program from Yemen showing ostriches, known today, belongs to an Hebrew Illuminated Bible. The focus and the aim of this article are to understand why.

It should be noted that only a few Hebrew Illuminated Bibles from Yemen have survived and those from the twelfth and thirteen centuries were not researched yet. Although L66 is documented in the Lutzki catalog, which is the inside catalog of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, (henceforth JTS), its art program was never researched.

If you would like to buy TEMA please contact Hagit Goodman at: hagoda@barak.net.il

A lecture at the International Conference on Jews of Yemen

As part of  The International Conference on Jews of Yemen: Identity and Heritage, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, State of  Israel, 18-19 October 2010, I gave a lecture on: “Do we have the Shalom Shabazi Pentateuch? Its Art program (JTS L104)“.

New Article: The Scorpion

Baessler-Archiv, volume 57, 2009, was published and pp. 75-101 includes my article: The Scorpion.
The phenomenon of pilgrimage to Taizz, south west Yemen, to the grave of the Jewish and Yemeni Poet Shalom (Salim) al-Shabazi (1619-1680+) is well known. However, the scorpion in that context has been less scrutinized. I wish to focus on the phenomenon of pilgrimage to his grave, by Jews and Muslims, from the point of view of art history. The target is to shed light on the scorpion as a symbol of fertility. The basis is the belief that visiting his grave will cure infertility. While being there, the appearance of an alive scorpion was considered a sign of cure.

The scorpion will be shown in four new types of Jewish Jewellery from the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב outside San’a from the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, as well as, its origin in Jewish and Islamic Art and belief.

From 1882 till 1950 Jews of Yemen made “Alia” (come back) to Israel. This had turn Israel to the only place in the world to research phenomena of Jews of Yemen in real time of its still happening in Yemen, including Jewellery. The Scorpion is the main iconography of four types of Jewellery brought into Israel, as well as, existed at the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב outside San’a in parallel time: Labbah (s.), Lazem (s.), Khoratah (s.) and Aqrabe (s.).

All the four are new types dated to nineteenth and twentieth centuries, not known in the eightieth century in San’a. There is no scorpion at all in Jewish iconography in the Jewish community at Ga bir al-azab קאע ביר אלעזב in the eighteenth century, except only from one type of Jewellery dated from the end of the eighteenth century / the beginning of the nineteenth century, of which I named “Humat al-aqrab”(s.) – “Scorpion’s Venom” (http://www.oraberger.co.il/phd/).

This paper is concerned with the scorpion in the above mentioned new types of Jewish Jewellery. At the essence of its existence lie three questions. First, whose scorpion is it? Second, is the scorpion a new iconography in Yemen? Third, what is the art formula of the scorpion and what we can conclude out of that?

Creative Commons Israel write about my Ph.D.

Creative Commons Israel wrote a news item (in Hebrew) about my Ph.D. available for download with their Attribution-Share Alike license.

I’m happy to be one of the first researchers to use a Creative Commons license for their Ph.D. in Israel. I hope more researchers will follow.

Attending at Seminar for Arabian Studies (SAS) 2009

As part of Seminar for Arabian Studies (SAS) 2009, I presented two posters regarding Hebrew Illuminated Bibles from Yemen. I also participated in the special workshop “The Development of Arabic as a Written Language” and consulted with them regarding a problem in Arabic writing in “carpet pages” in Hebrew Illuminated Bibles from Yemen.

See more info at my conferences page.

My Ph.D. is available for download

My Ph.D. dissertation is the first in Israel on Jewish Jewellery in Yemen in the 18th century. I decided to publish it under the Attribution-Share Alike license. It can be download by clicking on its title: The Jewellery of the Jewish Bride in San’a as a cultural and Artistic Message -  The 18th century. The synopsis is in English (pp.1-29) and the dissertation is in Hebrew (pp.30-348).