"Mizrah", papercut by the artist Israel Chaim Mannesovitch. USA, 1925.
A delicate and precise papercut. The design includes superimposed rectangular and diamond-shaped borders, with tiny circles, leaves, flowers and animal cutouts between them.
In the center of the "Mizrah" is a seven-branched menorah held by lions, under which is the word "Mizrah" (east – the direction for prayer). Under the lions appear a pair of storks and an additional pair of lions, under which is the American eagle holding two American flags. The top of the "Mizrah" displays the Tablets of the Law with the Ten Commandments, with a pair of birds on either side. The "Mizrah" is also decorated with pairs of birds, elephants, camels, bears and deer.
The date 1925 appears in the two top corners, and the Hebrew date (5685) appears in the two bottom corners within Stars of David. On the bottom margin is a handwritten Yiddish dedication and signature of the artist, "From Grandfather and Grandmother, Yisrael Chaim Mannesovitch".
A similar papercut by Mannesovitch is described in "Traditional Jewish Papercuts", by Joseph and Yehudit Shadur, Hanover & England, 2002, pp. 142, Ill. No. 4.28.
56X43.5 cm. Good condition. Only slight defects. Matted and framed.