Lot 37
Wooden Box with Inlaid Carved Stone Plaques – "On the Rivers of Cyprus" – Cyprus Detention Camps, 1948/1949
A wooden box with inlaid carved stone plaques made by a detainee in the Cyprus detention camps, 5709 (1948/1949).
The lid of the box is inlaid with a plaque depicting a group of exiles on a wooden raft, some standing and some sitting with their personal belongings. The composition is reminiscent of works illustrating the verse "On the rivers of Babylon there we sat and we wept when we remembered Zion", depicting the exiles of Babylon mourning Jerusalem. One of the most familiar of these works was created by E.M. Lilien (the artist may have been inspired by Lilien, or by other works in the same vein).
The side plaques are decorated with the characteristic barbed wire, reading "Cyprus" (Hebrew) and "5709" (1948/1949).
19.5X13.5X6 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes and stains to plates.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.
