Original sketch by Ze'ev Raban, depicting an imaginative view of the city of Jerusalem, its walls and towers.
Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper. Unsigned and undated. Stamp: "Ze'ev Raban, Beit Avoda LeOmanut Industrialit [formerly Gur Aryeh & Raban], Bezalel Jerusalem" (Hebrew) at lower margin and on verso.
The sketch presents a fanciful view of Jerusalem: in the center, the Dome of the Rock, flanked by the Tower of David and the Golden Gate. To the left, an architectural column resting upon a lion and surmounted by a gazelle. At the lower margin appears a long Biblical quotation: "Request the welfare of Jerusalem; may those who love you enjoy tranquility. May there be peace in your wall, tranquility in your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and my companions, I shall now speak of peace in you. (Psalms 122:6-9)".
For a similar design (advertisement for the Stenzky souvenir shop), see: Bat-Sheva Goldman Ida, Ze'ev Raban: Hebrew Symbolist, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv Museum of Art / Jerusalem: Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi, 2001, p. 82, item 85 (Hebrew edition).
34X21 cm. Frame: 47X32 cm. Fair condition. Stains and minor defects. Small marginal tears. Pencil sketches. Mounted on paper.
