Decorated ceramic tile. [Ottoman Empire, ca. 17th century].

Heavy wall tile, painted and glazed, in white, blue and turquoise. Decorated with a symmetrical floral-geometric pattern: each unit formed of a quatrefoil frame interlacing with adjacent frames, enclosing a central round rosette from which emerge four blue petals creating a floral cross design.

Executed in the style characteristic of Iznik ceramics, Turkey. Tiles of this type were employed to adorn the walls of mosques and public buildings throughout the Ottoman Empire. The Dome of the Rock and its adjoining structures were likewise decorated with tiles of similar patterns. During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566), the Dome of the Rock underwent major restoration, during which many of its tiles were replaced; in subsequent centuries, additional extensive renovations were carried out, replacing tiles, reinforcing the structure, and covering the Dome with gilt plates.

Set in a frame. Pencil inscription with Arabic numerals on verso of the wooden frame.

Approx. 75 albums of pressed flowers in olivewood bindings. Various publishers, Jerusalem, Beirut and other places [ca. late 19th century – first decades of the 20th century].

Large collection of souvenir albums from the Holy Land, containing pressed-flower arrangements, accompanied by color lithographs and photogravures of many important sites throughout Palestine and the Levant – Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee, and more. The albums are bound in decorated olivewood bindings, some carved and inlaid, others color-printed. Various sizes – some large-format albums, though most are small-format.

Pressed-flower albums first appeared in Palestine towards the end of the 19th century, and very quickly achieved unusual popularity. The growing flow of tourists to the Near East greatly increased the demand for souvenirs and decorative items, and by the early 20th century these albums had become highly sought-after objects, considered both prestigious and authentic. They generally combined a variety of traditional crafts of the Holy Land – olivewood carving and inlay, pressed and decoratively arranged flowers, and later also various printing techniques. The present collection presents a broad, diverse and distinctive survey of this craft.

For reference, see Hebrew description.

Approx. 75 albums in olivewood bindings. Size and condition vary. Overall fair to good condition. Stains, creases and tears. In several albums, damage to the pressed-flower arrangements. Some bindings detached or partly detached. Cracks and fractures to some of the bindings. Some interleaving tissue leaves lacking.

Fleurs de Terre Sainte / Flowers of the Holy Land / Blumen auf dem Hl. Land. Published by F. F. Marroum, Jerusalem, [late 19th or early 20th century].

Album in carved olive wood binding with leather spine; containing twelve photographs depicting views and sites of the Holy Land, signed in the negative "Bonfils", including: Jaffa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Valley of Hinnom, the Jordan River, and more. Opposite each photograph, is bound a plate with an arrangement of pressed flowers – purportedly gathered at the site where the photograph was taken.

Photographies de Terre-Sainte / Photographs of the Holy-Land / Photographien aus dem heiligen Lande. James Wood, Jerusalem, [late 19th century].

Album of photographs and pressed flowers, in olive wood binding, opening left to right. The front cover bears a Jerusalem Cross, the back cover printed "ירושלם Jerusalem". On spine: Photographs of the Holy Land / Photographien aus dem Hl. Lande.

The album comprises 18 photographs of sites in Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land, most by the American Colony photographers, signed in the plate "American Colony Jerusalem" (from the earliest period of the American Colony photography department). Captions printed in English, French and German. Opposite each photograph appears a pressed flower arrangement from the Holy Land, most titled in manuscript.

[18] photographs, [18] pressed flower arrangements. Photographs: 28X22 cm. Album: 32X24 cm. Fair condition. Wear and stains. Minor tears to tissue guards. Losses to pressed flower arrangements. Break to front cover board. Tears to spine.

Assorted souvenirs from Jerusalem, crafted of olive wood. [Jerusalem, 20th century].

Including: • three bookstands; • three boxes with locking mechanisms (two lacking key); • letter opener; • elongated box for writing implements; • two boxes for cigarettes; • small jewelry box; • ten egg cups; • small carved relief of the Dome of the Rock; • small-format album in olive wood binding (Flowers of the Holy Land / Fleurs de la Terre Sainte), with pressed flowers and photographs of sites in Jerusalem.

The souvenirs are decorated with various carvings and printed designs, some colored.

Enclosed: three additional small souvenirs from tin and brass.

23 items. Size varies. Overall good condition.