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Lot Essay
The Sichath Chulin, a 20th Century adapation of the 16th Century 'Legend of Prague', was the product of one of the most turbulent times in recent history, the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Following the overthrow of the old regime, there was an intense, short-lived flowering of interest in Jewish history. One of the key figures in this resurgence was Lazar (El) Lissitsky. Between 1916 and 1919, before his move to abstraction , he devoted himself almost totally to the cause of Jewish national art. Working with Mosche Brodersohn, poet, artist and stage designer, he created both a benchmark and catalyst for this resurgence, one of its first and most significant products, and one of the great illustrated books of the century. The illustrations, reminiscent of Art Nouveau, surrounded Brodersohn's text, written by a professional Jewish scribe.
The text concerned the Jewish community in 16th Century Prague, their fears of persecution and the miracles of salvation. It would have found resonance with a community that had just been released from the repressive regime of the Tzars, and buoyed up by the optimism surrounding the victory of the Bolsheviks, one which hoped to carve out a place for themselves in the new society being created around them.
In an obvious reference to the traditional form of preserving important texts, most obviously the Torah, a small number of the sets were mounted as a scroll. The edition was stated as being 110. Of these, 20 were issued in the form of scrolls, with sumptuous brocade wrapping and oak caskets, and were created specifically for bibliophiles. However, since publication took place in the chaos of the aftermath of the revolution, it is very unlikely that either edition was completed. Certainly fewer than half of the scrolls have survived. Brodersohn was a victim of Stalin's purges, and several copies of the Sichath Chulin then in Soviet collections were destroyed as being written by an 'enemy of the people'. The present example is thought to be one of th emost complete in existence, retaining not only the brocade wrapper and hand-carved box, but also the tiny lead seal of the Nashe Iskusstvo publishing house sewn onto the wrapper, missing in other surviving examples.
Following the overthrow of the old regime, there was an intense, short-lived flowering of interest in Jewish history. One of the key figures in this resurgence was Lazar (El) Lissitsky. Between 1916 and 1919, before his move to abstraction , he devoted himself almost totally to the cause of Jewish national art. Working with Mosche Brodersohn, poet, artist and stage designer, he created both a benchmark and catalyst for this resurgence, one of its first and most significant products, and one of the great illustrated books of the century. The illustrations, reminiscent of Art Nouveau, surrounded Brodersohn's text, written by a professional Jewish scribe.
The text concerned the Jewish community in 16th Century Prague, their fears of persecution and the miracles of salvation. It would have found resonance with a community that had just been released from the repressive regime of the Tzars, and buoyed up by the optimism surrounding the victory of the Bolsheviks, one which hoped to carve out a place for themselves in the new society being created around them.
In an obvious reference to the traditional form of preserving important texts, most obviously the Torah, a small number of the sets were mounted as a scroll. The edition was stated as being 110. Of these, 20 were issued in the form of scrolls, with sumptuous brocade wrapping and oak caskets, and were created specifically for bibliophiles. However, since publication took place in the chaos of the aftermath of the revolution, it is very unlikely that either edition was completed. Certainly fewer than half of the scrolls have survived. Brodersohn was a victim of Stalin's purges, and several copies of the Sichath Chulin then in Soviet collections were destroyed as being written by an 'enemy of the people'. The present example is thought to be one of th emost complete in existence, retaining not only the brocade wrapper and hand-carved box, but also the tiny lead seal of the Nashe Iskusstvo publishing house sewn onto the wrapper, missing in other surviving examples.