Portrait of Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon “Templo”. Engraving by Conrad Buno, from the book “De Templo Hierosolymitano” by Jacob Judah Aryeh Leon Templo. [Helmstadt, Germany, 1665].
Portrait of R. Jacob Judah 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 come 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 1740's.

R. Jacob Judah 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. Judah Leon created a model of Solomon's temple with small scale utensils, earning him the nickname of "Templo".

18X28 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Minor creases. Tiny hole.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.