Beschreibung:

"Mizrach" carpet made by Eliyahu Haim Levy. Kashan, (Persia), (early 20th century). A "Mizrach" carpet designed after a "Mizrach" by Rabbi Shaul Ben Pinchas Hornstein (the latter a lithograph in color published in Vienna in 1888 by Em. Joachim). Rabbi Shaul Hornstein was the author of "Givat Shaul" (Vienna 1883), a book about the geography and history of Eretz Israel settlements and holy sites from biblical days to modern times. On the lower part of the carpet appears the inscription, "I researched and examined… here in Vienna, I… Shaul Hornstein… Creation of Eliyahu Haim Levy". This text merges the text of the Hornstein "Mizrach" from 1889 and the signature of the carpet artisan, who copied the Hornstein version word by word. The weaver also copied the inscription on the upper part of the Hornstein "Mizrach" marking the tally of years since the construction of the Temple and its destruction (equaling 1889). The carpet, woven in vivid colors, includes graphic descriptions of sites, graves and towns in Eretz Israel. At the top we see the Tomb of the kings of the Kingdom of David and the Tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess; In the center, a large image of the Western Wall and Jerusalem, below which appear sites on the Mediterranean seashore ("Yam HaGadol"): "Zo Ir HaKodesh Yaffo," (the Tomb of) "Elisha the Prophet (on) Mount Carmel," "Ir HaKodesh Haifa" and "Zo Ir HaKodesh Zidon." Along the right margins appear images of the Tomb of Yossef HaTzadik, the Cave of the Machpelah, Rachel's Tomb, the Tomb of Shamai HaZaken and the tombs of the Rambam and HaShla; on the left we see the Tomb of "Rabbi Yohanan (HaSandlar), the Tomb of Hoshe'a the Prophet, the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochay, the Tomb of the Prophet Samuel and the site of the Tiberias Hot Springs. The carpet is not mentioned in "Jewish Carpets – A History and Guide" by Anton Felton (England: Antique Collectors' Club, 1977). 92.5X116 cm. Good condition. Non-original fringes. Minor damage at center, minor damages and tears at borders.