An Important Bezalel Carpet Designed by Ze’ev Raban, Jerusalem, ca. 1925

An early figure in the evolution of art in Israel, Ze’ev Raban was born Wolf Rawicki in Łódź in 1890. He began his artistic education at the age of fifteen, studying sculpture and decorative arts in various European cities, including Łódź, Munich, Paris, and Brussels.  

In 1912, Raban immigrated to Palestine and quickly involved himself in the development of the emerging Jewish state. He was invited by Boris Schatz to join the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, where he refined and promoted the utopian ideals of the Bezalel style. Enthusiastic and determined, Raban believed in the awakening of Hebrew art in Palestine, personally endeavoring to bring this dream to fruition.  

Raban easily navigated a wealth of artistic sources and mediums, borrowing and combining ideas from East and West, as well as fine arts and crafts from past and present. His works blended European neoclassicism, Symbolist art, and Art Nouveau with Oriental techniques to form a distinctive visual lexicon. Versatile and productive, he lent this unique style to most artistic mediums, including the fine arts, illustration, sculpture, repoussé, jewelry design, and ceramics.  

Also a prolific draftsman, Raban created posters encouraging travel and immigration to Palestine and illustrated children’s books, logos, ex libris plates, Jewish playing cards, postcards, and calendars. He also celebrated biblical themes, communicating the Zionist ideology and his own relationship with Jewish traditions. Raban produced a number of Bible illustrations, including for the books of Esther, Ruth, and Job, but his visual interpretation of the Song of Songs (Berlin, 1923) “remains beyond question one of his best-known and beloved works.”

The present lot is a rare reproduction of the final illustration from Raban’s edition of the Song of Songs—in rug form. In a medallion at center is the word hazak (strong), traditionally placed at the end of a biblical book, surrounded by interlocking white doves set against a floral background. Pairs of lions and gazelles inhabit the decorative border, which is interspersed with menorahs, vines, and other foliage, and the artist’s name (Z. Raban) appears in the Star of David at bottom center. The lot also includes a copy of Raban’s beautiful Song of Songs volume.

Physical Description

68 1/8 x 42 1/2 in.; 1750 x 1070 mm

Literature

https://loc.gov/exhibits/words-like-sapphires/people-of-the-book.html#obj6