Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Portrait of Rabbi Yaakov Yehudah Leon Templo- 1665 – Illustrations of the Temple and Tabernacle
Opening: $500
Sold for: Unsold
Portrait of R. Yaakov Yehudah Leon Templo. Engraving by Conrad Buno, from De Templo Hierosolymitano by Yaakov Yehudah Aryeh Leon Templo. [Helmstadt, Germany, 1665].
Portrait of R. Yaakov Yehudah Leon Templo, holding a scroll.
A small vignette in the lower margins depicts the contents of the scroll held by R. Templo: A small figure representing Moses, observing the land of Canaan ("For from afar, you will see the land, but you will not enter there", Deuteronomy, 32:52). Flanked by the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. The portrait is encircled by a Latin inscription: "Effigies uiri doctissimi et clarissimi Jacobi Yehudæ Leonis Hebræi autoris Structuræ templi Salomonici facti anno 1641". Signed in print.
The present engraving was made after a portrait of R. Templo created by R. Salom Italia some 20 years prior, in the 1740s.
R. Yaakov Yehudah Leon Templo (1603-after 1675), a 17th century Torah scholar in Amsterdam. Born in Portugal to a family of Spanish exiles, he studied in Amsterdam under the rabbi of the Neveh Shalom community, R. Yitzchak Uziel. He was renowned for his books on the prominent Biblical structures and utensils – the Tabernacle, Solomon's temple, and the Ark of the Covenant, which R. Leon described for the first time based on contemporary scientific knowledge.
His pioneering work earned him renown throughout Europe, and drew the attention of contemporary rulers – King Charles II, William II Prince of Orange, and Augustus Duke of Brunswick (who commissioned German translations of the works). Following the success of his books, R. Yehudah Leon created a model of Solomon's temple with small scale utensils, earning him the nickname of "Templo".
18.5X13.5 cm. Thin, fragile paper. Good condition. Light stains to margins. Tears to bottom margins. Verso repaired with paper to all four corners.
Portraits, Prints and Graphic Works
Portraits, Prints and Graphic Works