Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), sketches for two different series of playing cards – Biblical figures and figures from the history of Arabia and Islam. Jerusalem, [ca. 1920].
Ink and pencil on paper and tracing paper. Some leaves stamped "Z. Raban, Industrial Art Studio (Formerly Gur-Aryeh & Raban), Bezalel Jerusalem".
Some 24 leaves with sketches for playing cards. Many of them depict a few figures, and some are two-sided. The cards were published in 1920 in two different series – Biblical figures and figures from the history of Arabia and Islam. among the figures depicte: Saul (?), Jonathan, Bathsheba, Absalom, Solomon, Queen Sheba, Ashmedai, Esther, Harbonah and Judith; Antarah ibn Shaddad, al-Khansāʾ, Harūn al-Rashīd, Rostam, Abū Nuwās, Scheherazade, Khosrow, Hatim al-Tai, Al-Zeir Abu Layla al-Muhalhel Adi ibn Rabia', al-Nu'man. Some sketches show figures not included in the two series of cards published in 1920: Adam and Eve, Rebecca, and others.
24 leaves. Size and condition vary.
Literature: Batsheva Goldman Ida, Ze'ev Raban: a Hebrew Symbolist. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi, 2001. Pp. 129-132.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.

Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), collection of sketches for the symbols of the twelve tribes.
Ink and pencil on paper.
Approx. 100 sketches for symbols of the twelve tribes, in a variety of versions. The symbols of the tribes were incorporated in various works by Raban – in his illustrations to the Song of Songs, in stained glass windows he designed for the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv, in ceramics tiles (for instance for the Moshav Zekenim synagogue in Tel Aviv), on the doors of the Bikur Cholim hospital, and more.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.

Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), seven sketches for various Hanukkah lamps, including sketches for the Sharar group and for Zel-Zion.
Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper.
Included: • Sketch for a Hanukkah lamp with a depiction of Aaron the High Priest lighting the menorah on the backplate. Captioned in the corner: "for Sharar". The sketch is similar to the version which was ultimately produced. See: Ze'ev Raban, a Hebrew Symbolist, p. 78 item 82. • Two sketches for an upright Hanukkah lamp decorated with gazelles, for Zel-Zion; one of them with a brief letter from Ze'ev Raban to Zohar Zel-Zion, wner of the company. • Two additional sketches for an upright Hanukkah lamp, very similar to the sketches produced for Zel-Zion, though decorated with lions instead of gazelles. • Color sketch for a Hanukkah lamp decorated with vines, lions and Tablets of the Law, for Zel-Zion, also inscribed with several sentences addressed to Zohar Zel-Zion. See: Lighting the Way to Freedom, item 133; the lamp is not attributed there to Raban. • Sketch for an upright filigree Hanukkah lamp, in the classic Bezalel style. Stamped "Industrial Art Studio M. Gur Aryeh & Z. Raban, Bezalel Jerusalem ".
Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: Sketch for a triptych depicting Matityahu and his five sons. A finished version of the sketch was sold by Tiroche Auction House, auction 168 item 6, and is documented in the Information Center for Israeli Art of the Israel Museum. • Sketch for the inscription on the Memorial Wall for Zvi Kalir at the Beit Zvi school for the Performing Arts established in his memory.
Literature: Aaron Ha'Tell and Yaniv Ben Or, Lighting the Way to Freedom, Treasured Hanukkah Menorahs of Early Israel. Jerusalem and New York: Devora Publishing, 2006.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.

Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), collection of sketches for Judaica items for the Orthodox Jewish community in Auckland, New Zealand. Jerusalem, 1949.
Ink, pencil and colored pencils on paper.
Sketches for Torah shields and pointers. Included: • Sketch (and carbon copy) for a shield decorated with a lion and vines. Dedicatory inscription on shield (Hebrew): "Dedicated in memory of the communal workers and philanthropists of the Chevra Kaddisha in Auckland". Signed and dated by Raban. • Sketch for a shield decorated with pomegranates, a menorah, Tablets of the Law, a lion and stag. Dedicatory inscription (English): "In Memory of Rabbi Samuel Aaron Goldstein, Minister, Auckland Hebrew Com[munity], President, Auckland Zionist Assoc[iation]". With two sketches for a Torah pointer. Stamped with the inked stamp of Raban's studio. • Sketch (and carbon copy) for a Torah pointer, dedicated to "The Jewish soldiers who gave up their lives in the war against the Nazi enemy, and in the Independence war of Israel 1947-1949"; "designed for the Chevra Kaddisha of Auckland" (Hebrew). Signed and dated by Raban. Stamped with the inked stamp of Raban's studio.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.

Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), The Wild Rooster, pin and sketches for it.
Brass, repoussé; pencil on paper.
Round decorative pin, depicting the wild rooster from the legend of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The wild rooster (the hoopoe) is a recurrent motif in Raban's works. See for instance "Ze'ev Raban: a Hebrew Symbolist", pp. 126, 169; "Schatz's Bezalel", item 911. Enclosed with the pin are two sketches for it.
Pin: diameter approx. 4.5 cm. Good condition. Minor bends. Two sketches on one leaf, diameter approx. 4.5 cm each. Good condition. Stains and tears to leaf, not affecting sketches.
Literature:
1. Batsheva Goldman Ida, Ze'ev Raban: a Hebrew Symbolist. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi, 2001.
2. Schatz's Bezalel 1906-1929, Catalog Listing of Objects in the Exhibition. Jerusalem: the Israel Museum, 1983.
Provenance: Estate of Shlomo Kedmi.