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Important Early 20th Century Silver Kiddush cup by Bezalel School Jerusalem

$10,000List Price

About the Item

Important Handmade sterling silver Kiddush goblet by Bezalel School, Jerusalem, Circa 1910-1913. On the cup there are 3 identical scenes of flanked lions and on the middle of them There are two columns with a staircase, this design is probably taken from Eastern European torah ark, on the middle part there is a chandelier with 3 tiger/lioness Heads, the top of the cup has 3 inscription on top of each flanking lions scene, first One says : ״כוס ישועות אשא״ (Psalms 116:13) which means " I will take the cup of Salvation", this is a rather common blessing on kiddush cups. Next inscription says : ״אין שמחה אלא ביין״ in English " there is no joy except in wine" This says that after the temple was destroyed we have our joy only in the wine of Kiddish. The last inscription says ״ושמחת בחגך״ (Deuteronomy 16:14 ) in English : "And you shall rejoice in your festival". So this cup is a kiddish cup made for all porpuses, for special events like weddings, For holidays and for kiddish on Friday night. This one of a kind, hand made kiddish cup is one of the rarest examples of works By the Bezalel school, all hand Repoussé and chased, which is not so common on Bezalel works, the first scene also has the Bezalel Jerusalem signature, inside the Arch while flanking the chandelier. On 19/12/2018 Sothebys New York sold a plate (lot #30) with the same design of two Lions inside this art nouveau arch that was signed S.Utkes, this cup was made by The same artist (see last picture). Height 10.2 cm / 4 in Width 7cm / 2.7 in About the artist : Suma (Zelman) Utkes, this name is written on an entry dated April 1, 1911 in a Bezalel notebook, showing that a student named S. Utkes paid a partial tuition fee, An artist by the name of Zelman Utkes, born in Bialystok, is known to have studied painting in Vilna in 1907-8 and, after a sojourn in Berlin, to have arrived in Jerusalem, where he studied at the Bezalel School, probably around 1911. and it is a most unusual name, it is probably that Suma Utkes and Zelman Utkes were one and the same person. but He apparently never finished his studies, and with the outbreak of World War I, enlisted in the British Army. In 1923 he moved to Paris to try his luck. Zelman Utkes was born into a humble family. His father was a building painter. He spent his childhood at the heder. In 1905, he joined the Bund. From 1906 to 1908, he learned at a school of industrial crafts. He decided that the wanted to become an artist at a very young age. In 1908, he left for Vilnius to study painting and taught violin in order to earn his living. He returned to Bialystok and illustrated the Zionist journal The Voice of Bialystok, sketching portraits of Theodor Herzl and Max Nordau. In 1910, Utkes lived in Odessa and Berlin, then set off on a long trip to Palestine. In 1914, he left Palestine. He became a civil servant in the English administration in Egypt. His mission was to draw the mosaics that he found in the Sinai desert. England commissioned him to produce a war memorial, which stands in the Sinai desert today. In 1923, Utkes arrived in Paris and got married. he painted and participated in the Parisian artistic life. In the beginning of 1939, he left for the south of France with his wife. They were arrested and imprisoned in Toulouse and interned in Drancy on January 28, 1944. On February 1944 They were murdered in Auschwitz. Utkes works are very rare, he was learning and working in Bezalel for less than a year and from what we found only 2 works (besides this cup) were ever sold in the antiques market. Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts: Established in 1906 by artist Boris Schatz as the “Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts”, Bezalel has evolved into one of the world's most prestigious art schools. The name Bezalel is synonymous with more than 100 years of Israeli art, innovation and academic excellence. Bezalel’s unique strength stems from the numerous breakthroughs it has been responsible for and its ability to respond and adapt to cultural changes. It takes pride in its numerous generations of graduates, the spearhead of Israeli artists, designers and architects, in Israel and around the globe. The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is, first and foremost, a group of talented, inspired and motivated artists and professionals. Both faculty and students are driven by a passion to create and by their dedication to quality and excellence. These two pillars of the Academy have placed Bezalel at the epicenter of Israel’s cultural discourse and at the forefront of its artistic scene, making it instrumental in shaping the country’s cultural identity. The Silver Department at "Bezalel": Boris Shatz founded an art-and-crafts school in Jerusalem in 1906, naming it "Bezalel" for Bezalel Ben Uri, builder of the First Temple of biblical times. The Bezalel School heralded efforts to forge links with a broad range of Jewish artistic traditions from East and West. Dimensions:

Dimensions:
Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Width: 2.7 in (6.86 cm)Depth: 2.7 in (6.86 cm)
Style:
Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Silver,Engraved,Hammered,Hand-Crafted,Repoussé
Place of Origin:
Israel
Period:
1910-1919
Date of Manufacture:
1911
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. minor scratches and some rubbings on the foot (from old silver testing).
Seller Location:
Tel Aviv - Jaffa, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU8130237525842