- Object Name:
- Sukkah Decoration
- Artist/Maker:
- Israel David Luzzatto
- Bio:
- 1746-1806
- Place Made:
- Trieste (Italy)
- Date:
- c. 1775
- Medium:
- Ink and watercolor on paper
- Dimensions:
- 20 × 15 1/2 in. (50.8 × 39.4 cm)
- Credit Line:
- The H. Ephraim and Mordecai Benguiat Family Collection
- Accession Number:
- S 256
Not On View
This paper decoration was made for the interior of a sukkah, a temporary booth where Jews eat, study, and sometimes sleep during the eight-day Sukkot harvest festival. During the holiday, Ecclesiastes is traditionally read
in the synagogue. Its verses refer to the motion of the sea, wind, and sun, so the artist chose to render the text in the shape of an astrolabe, an instrument that measures the sun’s altitude. This is an excellent example of Jewish micrography, in which lines of miniature writing are used to form images.
in the synagogue. Its verses refer to the motion of the sea, wind, and sun, so the artist chose to render the text in the shape of an astrolabe, an instrument that measures the sun’s altitude. This is an excellent example of Jewish micrography, in which lines of miniature writing are used to form images.
Information may change as a result of ongoing research.