Illuminated Blessings for Reading the Torah in a Silver Case, Sol Nodel, New York, ca. 1955

Illuminated manuscript; ink and gouache on paper (14 ½ x 5 ¼  in.: 370 x 130 mm). Housed within a silver case (20 ½ x 5 ¾   in.: 520 x 150 mm), formed in the shape of  a Torah scroll; applied with Hebrew letters upon each of two doors and forming the words Birkot ha-Torah (Blessings for the Torah), and opening at center.

Sol Nodel (1912-1976) was one of the leading figures in the revival of the art of manuscript illumination in the mid-twentieth century. By successfully combining the disparate skills of a miniaturist and a calligrapher, Nodel became a celebrated American artist whose exquisite designs were highly sought after.  He was commissioned to create works for Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson as well as numerous other religious and political figures. 

Created for use in a synagogue, this magnificently illuminated plaque presents the blessings to be recited before and after the reading of the Torah so that worshippers who are called to the Torah may recite these required texts. Embellished with gold highlights, the brilliantly-colored border design features eight charming miniature illustrations representing the Sabbath and festivals. This truly unique combination of an illuminated text and its beautiful silver housing make the present lot a rare example of a ritual object which stands out as a decorative piece of synagogue furnishing, in its own right.

Among Nodel’s most important commissions was the work he created for the multi-volume, monumental artists' Haggadah, known as the Rose Family Seder Books, annually displayed at the New York Public Library. Comprising  more than sixty years of Passover-themed artwork, each year, an outstanding artist has been commissioned to add to the ongoing project, . Not only was Nodel chosen to be the inaugural artist of the Haggadah, he is represented more than any other artist, having been chosen to illuminate the Haggadah’s pages on nine separate occasions between 1951-1973.

Literature:

Steinmetz, Rollin and Charles Rice, Vanishing Crafts and their Craftsmen, N. J., Rutgers University Press, 1959. pp. 123-133.

Exhibition catalogue “The Art of Illumination by Sol Nodel” Klutznick Exhibition Hall, B’nai B’rith Washington D.C.1968.