Publisher Description

Since turning to the field of Jewish art over twenty years ago, Vivian Mann has concentrated on investigating Jewish ceremonial art within the dual contexts of Jewish law, and the history of decorative arts in general, including the ceremonial art made for the Church and the Mosque. The introduction to this volume considers classic rabbinic attitudes toward art and its relationship to spirituality. The remaining essays are divided into three groups: the first concerns medieval ceremonial art; the second, articles on the Jewish art of Muslim lands beginning with the early Middle Ages; and the third consists of essays on Judaica during the periods of the Renaissance and rococo.

Author Biography

Since turning to the field of Jewish art over twenty years ago, Vivian Mann has concentrated on investigating Jewish ceremonial art within the dual contexts of Jewish law, and the history of decorative arts in general, including the ceremonial art made for the Church and the Mosque.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Art and Spirituality through the Rabbis' Eyes

The Art of the Middle Ages. Torah Ornaments before 1600

'New' Examples of Ceremonial Art from Medieval Ashkenaz

Sephardi Ceremonial Art

Toward an Iconography of Medieval Ashkenazi Synagogues

The Unknown Jewish Artists of the Middle Ages

A Fifteenth-Sixteenth Century Box in the Jewish Museum and its Transformation

A Jewish Patron in Twelfth-Century Cologne: the Samson/Hercules Tablemen

Jewish Art in Muslim Lands - The Middle Ages and Later. The Covered Gospels, The Torah Case and the Qur'an Box

Between Worshipper and Wall: the Place of Art in Liturgical Spaces

The Art of Convivencia in Spain and Morocco

Jewish-Muslim Acculturation in the Ottoman Empire: The Evidence of Ceremonial Art

Memory, Mimesis, Realia: Jews and Art in Morocco

Renaissance to Rococo. The Rediscovery of a Known Work

The Golden Age of Jewish Ceremonial Art in Frankfurt: Metalwork of the Eighteenth Century

Defining Jewish Art: The Case of Two Eighteenth-Century Book Covers

Forging Judaica: The Case of the Italian Majolica Seder Plates

Additional Notes

Index

Long Description

Since turning to the field of Jewish art over twenty years ago, Vivian Mann has concentrated on investigating Jewish ceremonial art within the dual contexts of Jewish law, and the history of decorative arts in general, including the ceremonial art made for the Church and the Mosque. The introduction to this volume considers classic rabbinic attitudes toward art and its relationship to spirituality. The remaining essays are divided into three groups: the first concerns medieval ceremonial art; the second, articles on the Jewish art of Muslim lands beginning with the early Middle Ages; and the third consists of essays on Judaica during the periods of the Renaissance and rococo.

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