Herzl Rug

Increasingly culturally integrated, Jewish fine artists, designers, and photographers produced dazzling works of art and considered cultivating a distinctive national art.

Yemeni Marriage Necklace

Jewish brides in Sana‘ (Yemen) traditionally wore a large necklace composed of dugag, large silver filigree beads, as part of their wedding ensemble. The dugag are hollow spheres that ring against…

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Lithograph with Hebrew title, two portraits of men on either side of Hebrew text, and drawings of figures holding flags along the bottom.

Simḥat Torah Flag

Flags like this, made of paper, decorated, and attached to a stick—sometimes with an apple and a small lit candle atop it—were commonly carried by children during Simḥat Torah celebrations. The…

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Page of printed English text surrounded by decorative border, with small image of wedding on top of page, with spaces for signatures and handwritten text throughout text.

English Ketubah (New York)

This staunchly Reform ketubah—it is entirely in English—reflects the changing nature of the Hebrew Publishing Company, which had long published primarily for the Yiddish- and Hebrew-using immigrant…

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Velvet tefillin bag with embroidered date and a double-headed eagle.

Tefillin Bag of Leib Millman

This velvet tefillin bag is embroidered on one side with images of flowers; the reverse side contains the date and the imperial double-headed eagle, a symbol of both the Austro-Hungarian and the…

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Page with Yiddish text interspersed with drawings of large boat, the Statue of Liberty, an anchor, train, and flags.

Leshone-toyve shifskarte (Jewish New Year's Card in the Form of an Ocean Liner Ticket)

This card for Rosh Hashanah plays on the common Jewish experience of immigration to the United States to offer the traditional New Year’s wishes of long life, health, happiness, and success. Framing…

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