Jewish culture Basalt Important late roman frieze with two menorah from an Ancient Synagogue. 76 cm Large. Huge 32 kg.

Architectual frieze with three menorah Jewish culture Circa 4th - 6th century AD Lench 75 cm; Height 40 cm, thickness6. 5 cm 32 Kilograms. PROVENANCE: Private collection England, acquired in the 1980s. CONDITION: Good, restored from two fragments. PARALLELS: See Christie's. December 12, 2002. Lot 325 an 326. Estimation of the lots between 10,000 and 18,000 dollars DESCRIPCTION: 4th-6th century. An early Jewish basalt menorah relief, Late Roman to Byzantine Period. Perhaps from the lintel of a synagogue, the rectangular panel carved on one side with two seven-branched menorah in raised relief, florwers between them. The menorah is described in the Bible as the seven-lamp (six branches) ancient Hebrew lampstand made of pure gold and used in the portable sanctuary set up by Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. Fresh olive oil was burned daily to light its lamps. The menorah has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times and is the emblem on the coat of arms of the modern state of Israel Depictions of the menorah have been discovered in tens of ancient archaeological digs all throughout Israel and in distant regions where Jews lived. Many of these depictions date back to the time of the 2nd Holy Temple and continued during roman and bizantine times. Most large menorah reliefs came from ancient synagogue and some of the smaller depictions have been found in private homes where kohanim people lived. Kohanim would have had first-hand knowledge of the menorah. In every archaeological discovery, without exception, the menorah is depicted with rounded branches, as our example. Notes: The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki. The piece includes authenticity certificate. The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested. This process could take between 1 and 2 months.