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Research
on:
God
and Beer A Domestic Furnishing Fabric |
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Block
printed on cotton in the last quarter of the 18th
century in Alsace.
Measurements: 76x43in./193cms x111cm.
These graphic pictorial prints were an essential requirement
for the upwardly mobile of late 18th century France.
They had come to replace brocade as a furnishing
fabric of choice. These rural scenes displayed an
awareness of the philosophy of Rousseau. |
The
mystery is: why does it depict a Star of David over
what appears to be a public house? This symbol was
not exclusively Jewish. It had roots in sacred geometry.
Its power having been realized in India, China, Persia,
Egypt, Greece and by the Jews, Christians and Moslems
also, Freemason and Alchemist, but in this rural,
context it was likely to be Jewish for several very
practical reasons: |
1.Three
quarters of the Jewish population of France lived
in Rural Alsace
2.One of the few professions that Jews were permitted
to practice was inn keeping.
3.Contemporary to the textile, major changes in the
Jewish way of life in Alsace were in progress. |
In
France as in the rest of Western Europe the Enlightenment
was fostering respect for the individual and asserting
basic equality of all human beings. Thus the stage
was set for Jews to be finally admitted as equals
into the societies of Europe. In Alsace, where the
majority of French Jews lived, several prominent,
wealthy Jews r gained favour in society. Thanks to
these privileges, there sprang into existence a class
of rich Jews who were open minded, subtle, refined
and intellectual. These privileges had been granted
to Cerf Berr, who enlisted the help of the influential
philosopher Moses Mendelssohn to write a report addressing
the political reform of the Jews in Alsace. {Since
the Middle Ages, Jews had been subjected to a compulsory
body tax and they were forced to live in Shtetles,
forbidden to own land and restricted to certain professions.}
My subjective view is that the textile was commissioned
in what turned out to be a brief moment of optimism,
by a wealthy charismatic Jew, hoping that in the new
world emergent in France attitudes were certain to
change. Adding a Star of David to a Rousseauesque
design would be an expression of growing confidence
and a willingness to become part of the wider secular
culture amongst Jews. - Not as has been suggested
a satirical look at Jewish life. Such parodies did
appear in print in periodicals, but one would hardly
embellish a textile, which hung in a home with such
a sentiment. Also at this time the six-pointed star
had not developed as a recognizable Jewish symbol.
It's universal significance would have been known
to an educated Jew. |
Subsequent
Research
In June we had sold the textile to a noble soul who
planned to give it to a Jewish Museum, subject to
the research proving correct.
In July a letter arrived from a scholar explaining
that a six-pointed star was a sign in Alsace for quality
beer. Therefore the textile was of no Jewish interest.
My first reaction was that this couldn't be right.
Why would a brewer use a sacred symbol to sell beer
?. In the very same area, Jews were being liberated
and the six -pointed star was consciously being adopted
as a sign to represent the Jewish faith, in the same
manner that the Cross represented Christianity.
I next contacted Molou Schneider at The Strasburg
Museum. She confirmed to me;
that the six-pointed star hung from taverns in Alsace
up until the Nazi occupation.
I asked her whether there was an explanation for this
and also when had it first been introduced?
A few weeks later I received information that the
six-pointed star had been a medieval guild sign for
brewing, rather like a present day trading standard.
It was speculated that the sign had been borrowed
from alchemy where it represents the point of transmutation.
During the Inquisition at the end of the 12th century
both Jews and alchemists were either killed or expelled
from Strasburg. The symbol of the six-pointed star
was outlawed. There is no evidence of it reappearing
until the end of 18*n century.
It appears that the six-pointed star had its renaissance
at the end of 18th century in two highly diverse guises.
This could have been very innocent, both being the
result of the Enlightenment.
What is surprising is that throughout the 19th century
these separate guises co- existed. The Star of David
developed very successfully as a symbol of Jewish
faith. - As France had been the first country to liberate
Jews they defined the guidelines for the rest of Europe.
The Jews of Alsace had been highly influential in
this process. If the six pointed star had such a high
profile as a trading standard for beer why did the
Jews chose to develop it into sign to represent their
faith? Far from having no Jewish interest this textile
is a catalyst for Jewish interest. |
References:
Anti -Semitism its history and causes by Bernard Lazare1897
Judaism as revealed legislation by Moses Mendelssohn
1767
Editdu Roi published in Colmar, at Decker January
17th 1784
Stag Berr: representative of a Jewish nation of Alsace
1726-1793. by Chief Rabbi Warschawski
The Alsatian Jews - Should They Be Granted Equal Rights?"
published in 1790.
A History of the Jews, Sachar, Abram Leon, New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 193
Identical piece but with bearded figures:
Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Acquisition number: 1954-14
8-1, catalogued as Alsace, 18th Century
Similar textiles published in this rural theme but
without a Star of David:
Western European printed textiles 16th-18th century
State Hermitage Collection t4059
Les delice des quarter saisons designed by Jean-Baptiste
Huet c 1785 Jouy, Musee Oberkampf 9831512. Published
in Toiles de Jouy by Josette Bredif page 89
Le Fete Flammande
circa 1797, designed by Jean-Baptiste
Huet. Jouy Oberkampf Musee 97812b published as above
page 13. |
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