Auction 61 - Rare and Important Items
Magnificent Certificate on Vellum in Honor of Herbert Samuel, on the Occasion of His Appointment as High Commissioner - Jerusalem, 1920
Opening: $5,000
Sold for: $16,250
Including buyer's premium
Magnificent certificate on vellum, written and illustrated by hand, presented to Herbert Samuel upon his appointment to the role of British High Commissioner of Palestine, by Jerusalem's Orthodox Community Council (Va'ad Ha'Ir). Jerusalem, July 12, 1920. Signed by members of the Council's presidency.
Ink and watercolor on vellum.
A certificate presented to Herbert Samuel on the occasion of his appointment as High Commissioner for Palestine. In the center is a text, in Hebrew, "To his supreme excellency Sir Herbert Samuel, Governor of Eretz Israel", written in calligraphic script incorporating golden ink: "The Jewish community in Jerusalem is filled with feelings of happiness and pride to see you in it as the first Jewish Commissioner in the Holy Land after two thousand years, and expresses deep gratitude to His Majesty's government for selecting you to carry out the promises that were given to our people in the Balfour Declaration…"
The text is signed by three members of the "Jerusalem Orthodox Community Council" (a body that represented most of Jerusalem's Jewish communities during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine): Sh. Gordon, Zalman HaCohen Rubin and Shmuel Lupo.
The blessing is surrounded by a colorful frame that integrates vegetal motifs and two Stars-of-David. At the top of the frame is an illustration of Jerusalem against the background of the rising sun. At the bottom is an illustration of a lion breaking through the chains binding him (symbolizing the "Lion of Judah").
42X53 cm. Good condition. Creases and light stains. Tears to upper margins.
Ink and watercolor on vellum.
A certificate presented to Herbert Samuel on the occasion of his appointment as High Commissioner for Palestine. In the center is a text, in Hebrew, "To his supreme excellency Sir Herbert Samuel, Governor of Eretz Israel", written in calligraphic script incorporating golden ink: "The Jewish community in Jerusalem is filled with feelings of happiness and pride to see you in it as the first Jewish Commissioner in the Holy Land after two thousand years, and expresses deep gratitude to His Majesty's government for selecting you to carry out the promises that were given to our people in the Balfour Declaration…"
The text is signed by three members of the "Jerusalem Orthodox Community Council" (a body that represented most of Jerusalem's Jewish communities during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine): Sh. Gordon, Zalman HaCohen Rubin and Shmuel Lupo.
The blessing is surrounded by a colorful frame that integrates vegetal motifs and two Stars-of-David. At the top of the frame is an illustration of Jerusalem against the background of the rising sun. At the bottom is an illustration of a lion breaking through the chains binding him (symbolizing the "Lion of Judah").
42X53 cm. Good condition. Creases and light stains. Tears to upper margins.