TENU SHIRAH (HYMN FOR THE PURIM HOLIDAY), [IRANIAN KURDISTAN: EARLY 20TH CENTURY]

TENU SHIRAH (HYMN FOR THE PURIM HOLIDAY), [IRANIAN KURDISTAN: EARLY 20TH CENTURY]

Ink and gouache on paper (14 x 8 3/4 in.; 355 x 223 mm). Creased; lightly stained; minor losses along the folds, expertly backed with Japanese paper.

This highly decorative plaque was produced for a member of the ancient Jewish community of Kurdistan, a geo-cultural region covering parts of Iran, northern Iraq, Syria, and eastern Turkey. On the holiday of Purim, before the reading of the Esther scroll, members of the Iranian Kurdish Jewish community recited a special pizmon (liturgical hymn) authored by the poet Japheth Benaiah. The title of the hymn, Tenu shirah, is derived from the opening words of the first stanza: “Give song and chant, O treasured people, / To God supernal, and read the scroll.” The vast majority of Jews left Kurdistan in 1950-1951, immigrating to Israel. This colorful, decorative Purim plaque is a rare example of the marriage of popular folk art motifs with the devout religious beliefs of a vibrant Jewish community.

Literature

Ora Shwartz-Be’eri, The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts (Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 2000).

Erich Brauer, The Jews of Kurdistan, ed. Raphael Patai (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1993).