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© Gross Family Collection, Photographer: Unknown,

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

Chaim Israel Meir Mizrachi was a physician, author, kabbalist, poet, etc. He was born and he died in the Azerbaijan region of Iran but spent a good deal of his life in Jerusalem, where this manuscript was penned.  He wrote several books and anthologies of liturgical poetry, of which this is one.  Many of the poems here are by one of the most famous religious poets, Israel Najara. Mizrachi was an excellent calligrapher and the poems appear in colored inks in many original shapes formed by unusual arrangements of the text. This shape appears to be that of a Torah finial, a silver decoration for the Torah scroll in the typical form of that object in Jerusalem, with an animal by its side. Other manuscripts, including massive medical texts, exist from his hand as well, in libraries, museums and in the hands of his descendants in Jerusalem. The illustrated, multicolored pages with the piyutim (liturgical poetry) written in the form of a hamsa is one of the most unusual.

The calligraphy in the form of the hand, or hamsa, is most unusual in manuscripts.

Pages: 142

Name/Title
Piyuttim | Unknown
Object Detail
Settings
Unknown
Date
circa 1850
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Paper, Colored Inks, Written, Painted
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height: 18.2 cm, Width: 9.6 cm, Depth: 1.5 cm
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
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Author of description
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Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
Gross_EI.011.010_020.jpg