Obj. ID: 39217
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Shabbat and Holiday Challah Cover, Jerusalem, circa 1910

The following description was prepared by William Gross: Such printed textiles were made as souvenirs, as gifts from Jerusalem institutions for their supporters abroad and directly as ritual items. Such cloths are to be found in virtually every country in which Jews reside, having been sent their by institutions or as souvenirs. The iconographic scheme usually centered around images of the Holy Sites with other Jewish symbols. The textiles were printed on a variety of fabrics ranging from simple cotton to silk. They were usually textiles either for the Pesach Seder table or for use on Shabbat and Holidays as challah covers with the appropriate prayers of the Kiddush of that event. The earliest examples, yet from the 19th century, were produced by the famous printers of that period in Jerusalem.

This Shabbat and Holiday cloth example is one of particularly fine images printed on a white cotton textile. This example was published by the large Jerusalem institution "The Central Committee of Knesset Israel" to present to their friends and donors. In addition to the regular depictions of the Holy Places, there are two illustrations of the buildings of the institution itself. There exist many different printed items from this particular institution. This cloth was printed in the workshop of one of the foremost printers in Jerusalem, Yoel Solomon, who printed in Jerusalem under various names for almost 50 years. There are some 75 objects in the Gross Family Collection that were printed by him.

Inscription: Lichvod Shabbat ve-Yom Tov