Four pictorial rugs of Prominent Zionist Figures Made in Jerusalem in the Alliance Israelite Universelle School

The Alliance Israélite Universelle was founded in Paris in 1860 to improve the welfare of Jews around the world primarily through education. In 1882 the Alliance opened a trade-school in Jerusalem to provide boys from poor families with vocational training.  The school comprised a series of workshops, where the trades of carpentry, blacksmithing, metal-founding, and wood and stone carving were taught. In 1884, the Alliance established a similar school for poor young girls who were taught sewing, embroidery, dressmaking and carpet-weaving. The rugs in this lot with iconic portraits of Zionist leaders were created in the Alliance workshops.

1. Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) the visionary founder of modern Zionism, seen from left. Herzl, standing on a balcony oversees the ingathering of the Jews from exile in the diaspora. In the background, the sun rises over David’s Tower in Jerusalem. This representation of Herzl is based on an iconic photograph taken by E. M. Lilien.
(56 x 25 ¼ in.: 1422 x 641 mm).



2. Herzl, seen from right.
(42 x 24 in.: 1066 x 609 mm).



3. Max Nordau (1848-1923) An eminent Viennese Psychiatrist and co-founder with Herzl of the World Zionist Organization.
(47 x 24 in.: 1193 x 609 mm).



4. Herbert Samuel (1870-1963) the First High Commissioner of Palestine under the British Mandate (1920-25).
(49 x 24 in.: 1244 x 609 mm).

Anton Felton, Jewish Carpets: A History and Guide, 1997 no. 9, 10, 15, 17, pp. 71-80 (illustrated); Rachel Arbel,  Blue and White in Color: Visual Images of Zionism, 1897-1947. Tel Aviv: 1997.