«The Sanctuary Implements: their Iconography and Tradition in Manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (13th-15th Century)»

In this chapter, the sanctuary’s implements are considered according to their graphic renderings in illuminated manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible produced in the context of refined Sephardic workshops of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. A short introduction to vessels in Jewish literature and art and in Hebrew biblical manuscripts is followed by a set of case studies, which represent remarkable variations on the genre. It goes on to focus on the exquisitely coloured paintings in 14th-century Sephardic Bibles held in Modena (Biblioteca Estense, Mss. ɑ.T. 3.8 and ɑ.M. 8.4) and on the Hebrew Pentateuch decorated in micrography from 1325 Barcelona, today held at the Historical Archive of the Jewish Community of Rome (Ms. 2). Their peculiarities are compared with two Bible manuscripts in Paris (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. hébr. 1314 and hébr. 31). The purpose of this chapter is to present and untangle the essential features of their iconography, function, and meanings. Furthermore, the cultural, historical, and ideological implications of their different selections of objects, organisations, and colouring are analysed