Images(2)

Torah Crown

Artist Zelig Segal Israeli, 1933–2015

Datecirca 2000

MediumSilver

Dimensionsheight, width, and depth: 19 1/4 × 14 3/8 × 5 3/4 in. (48.9 × 36.5 × 14.6 cm)

ClassificationsMetal

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Arnold J. Shertz and Family and from the Friends of the Judaic Art Gallery

Object number2021.7

On View

Not on view

Label TextZelig Segal is among the leading Israeli designers who have reinterpreted Jewish ceremonial art in modernist forms. Innovative, yet firmly based in Jewish tradition, his work has influenced a younger generation of artists. This exuberant Torah crown strongly contrasts with Segal’s highly minimalistic Hanukkah lamp displayed nearby.

The symmetrical, wavy undulations of this Torah crown are symbolic of movement and harmony, the process of Torah study and gaining knowledge in an endless venture. The Torah is often described using the symbol of water (life source, active, miraculous), and the Talmud is metaphorically described as the sea.
["The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceCreated Jerusalem, ca. 2000; collection of the artist; [Ely Levisohn, Judaica Heirlooms, Jerusalem]; Gideon Finkelstein, Belgium; [Finkelstein Sale, Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, February 1, 2021, no. 5]; sold to NCMA, 2021.Published ReferencesJudaica: The Finkelstein Collection (auction catalogue) (Paris: Pierre Bergé & Associés, 2021, no. 5).Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Becoming the NCMA: 10 Decades of Collecting, 1924-2022," June 11-August 21, 2022.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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