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Lot 52

Colorfully Embroidered Sabbath Tablecloth – Iranian Kurdistan, 1875

Embroidered tablecloth for the Sabbath and holidays. [Iranian Kurdistan, possibly Sakhiz], 5635 [1875].
Colored silk-thread embroidery on cotton; patterned cotton fabrics; sequins; fringes at edges.
Large, round tablecloth, of a type in use among the Jews of Kurdistan. Tablecloths of this sort were meant to cover either the table or the food platters laid down upon it, on the Sabbath, holidays, or ceremonial events. This tablecloth is densely embroidered with recurrent, symmetrical vegetal patterns in addition to fancy medallions and images of birds.
The embroidery also includes several circular inscriptions in Hebrew, bearing teachings and a dedication. The outer circle contains a teaching associated with the dining table (Avot 3:3; Ezekiel 41:22), ending with the date the tablecloth was embroidered: "Rabbi Shimon began and said: Three who ate at one table and spoke words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten at G?d's table, as is stated, 'And he said to me: This is the table that is before G?d'; 22nd [?] of Tammuz, Year 5635 [1875]". Embroidered on the four large medallions is an additional teaching from Avot (6:4; the inscription continues in installments from one circle to the next): "Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink…". A dedicatory inscription appears in the middle circle: "I have written [this] for my beloved brother, R. Yeshaya son of my father R. [?] Avner".
A number of examples of tablecloths of this type are known to exist. Most are kept in museum collections. The present tablecloth is particularly special insofar as the embroidery actually gives the precise date it was made.


Diameter of embroidered cloth: approx. 74 cm. Diameter incl. encircling patterned cloth: 97-99 cm. Diameter incl. fringes: 115 cm. Overall good condition. Stains, some large. Missing sequins. Missing pieces of fringes.


Reference, equivalents and exhibitions:
1. The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts, edited by Ora Shwartz-Be’eri and Efrat Carmon. Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, 1981, p. 176 (Hebrew and English).
2. Shabbat shalom, edited by Brach Yaniv and Zohar Hanegby. Ramat Gan, Bar Ilan, 1998, p. 33 and cover (Hebrew).
3. Iran, edited by Haim Saadoun. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2005, p. 190 (Hebrew).
4. Life cycle, by Shalom Sabar. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2006, p. 271 (Hebrew).
5. Et-Mol, vol. 208. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2009, p. 25 (Hebrew).
6. Here Comes the Bride. Dowry, Engagement and Wedding Gifts, by Yael Wiesel. Ashdod, 2016, p. 43 (Hebrew).
7. Jewish Ceremonial Art, by Stephen S. Kayser. Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society of America, 1959, item no. 77.
8. Jewish Life in Art and Tradition, edited by Yehuda L. Bailer and Estelle Fink. Jerusalem, Hechal Shlomo, 1980, p. 126.
9. The Jewish Museum. New York, item nos. F4937 and F6033.
10. Textile of Union: On Festive Roundels Made and Used by the Jews of Irani Kurdistan, by Shifra Epstein, in: Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review, vol. 9, no. 2. New York, 1987, pp. 1-5.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 034.015.002.
This tablecloth is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item 39350.