A BETHLEHEM CARVED MOTHER-OF-PEARL SHELL CARVING DEPICTING THE LAST SUPPER...
A BETHLEHEM MOTHER-OF-PEARL SHELL CARVING DEPICTING THE LAST SUPPER
Bethlehem, Palestine, late 19th-early 20th century
Oval in shape, the scene depicting a the Last Supper, framed by a continuous frieze of stylised leaves, fitted with a red velvet support.
12cm x 8.5cm, velvet backing 14cm x 11.5cm
Such carvings would have been produced for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, the tradition of shell carving was introduced in Bethlehem by the Franciscans in the 16th century, as evidenced by the models of Holy Land shrines in Palestine that they commissioned from local artisans and exported to Catholic Europe—particularly Venice—via Acre by the mid-17th century Bethlehem subsequently became the manufacturing center of a global industry in religious souvenirs, extensively traded by Bethlehem merchants throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Literature:
Norris, J., Exporting the Holy Land: Artisans and Merchant Migrants in Ottoman-Era Bethlehem, in Mashriq & Mahjar 1, no. 2, 2013, p. 23.
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Time, Location
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A BETHLEHEM MOTHER-OF-PEARL SHELL CARVING DEPICTING THE LAST SUPPER
Bethlehem, Palestine, late 19th-early 20th century
Oval in shape, the scene depicting a the Last Supper, framed by a continuous frieze of stylised leaves, fitted with a red velvet support.
12cm x 8.5cm, velvet backing 14cm x 11.5cm
Such carvings would have been produced for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, the tradition of shell carving was introduced in Bethlehem by the Franciscans in the 16th century, as evidenced by the models of Holy Land shrines in Palestine that they commissioned from local artisans and exported to Catholic Europe—particularly Venice—via Acre by the mid-17th century Bethlehem subsequently became the manufacturing center of a global industry in religious souvenirs, extensively traded by Bethlehem merchants throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Literature:
Norris, J., Exporting the Holy Land: Artisans and Merchant Migrants in Ottoman-Era Bethlehem, in Mashriq & Mahjar 1, no. 2, 2013, p. 23.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
