Grigorescu, Felicia: Forme de artă în cimitire evreieşti din nord-vestul Romaniei (Satu Mare, 2013)

Glosar de termeni

The most frequent vegetal motifs in the studied area are: the tree of life, the vine and its fruit - the grape the oak tree and the acorn, the rose, the lily, the branch, the laurel wreath, the palm tree, the olive tree, the acanthus, the ivy, the fig tree, the

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pomegranate .

The zoomorphic motifs have a more reduced frequency compared to the ones previously mentioned; nevertheless, they are met throughout the entire studied area. The most frequent zoomorphic motifs are: the deer, the lion, the griffin, the bird (Pic. 41).

The fact that the tombstone from the studied area is not filled with multiple associations of symbols, so as to cover or surpass the field reserved to decorum (as it happens in Moldova or in other European areas), does not diminish its connotative power, but, on the contrary, it centralizes it, drawing the attention to a single symbol with direct reference to Judaism.

Besides the pseudo-architecture of the funeral stones from the Jewish cemeteries, the decorum elements themselves contribute in a most decisive way to the determination of the particular and of the originality of these cemeteries. First of all, we must mention the Jewish symbols, which, through their nature, have historical-religious connotations that are specific to the Jewry. The zoomorphic elements of decorum with rare appearances in the funeral fine art in the spatial and temporal area of the present study also contribute to the determination of the individuality of these cemeteries, next to another very important element: the Hebraic writing. The compound of all these defining elements contributes to the cemeteries’ differentiation, both of the Jewish from the Christian ones, as well as of the Jewish ones from one another, depending on where they are situated. The usage of, and the way of associating, the ornaments manage to create typologies in the field. Some Jewish cemeteries, for example the ones from Moldova, have remarkable richly-ornamented tombstones. Though of medium dimensions,

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sometimes two thirds of their surface is allocated to ornamentation . In this space, Jewish symbols are found, as well as singular zoomorphic elements or opposite pairs, phytomorphic elements in an abundance of spindles, leaves and flowers that wreathe next to the decorum elements. These stones were often compared to the embroidery of the traditional art. In contrast to these, there are fewer ornaments on the tombstones in North- West Romania. The compositions of decorative elements appear with considerably lower frequency. Most of the tombstones usually present a single Jewish symbol. What appears most is the menorah^ - the Seven-Armed Candelabrum - and the Shield of David40. 87 88 89 90

87 Cynthia Crewe, Plant motif on Jewish ossuaries and sarcophagi in Palestine in the late second temple period: Their identification, sociology and significance, Faculty of Humanism, Manchester 2005, (From now on: Plant Species)

88 S. Sanie, Şiret..., p. 190, PL. XXXVI Stele funerare: VI-133 (1)

89 N. Badrus, Două simboluri identitare evreieşti: menora şi maghen David, în Istorie şi tradiţie în spaţiul românesc VI, ULB Sibiu, 2006,, pg. 91-93, (From now on: Simboluri...), The menorah is represented in the Torah as a divine project; it is described in detail and has a strong religious connotation. It is a symbol known in the Judaic world already before the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. We find it also on the Arch of Titus, which appears as pillage, after the destruction of the Second Temple in the 70s CE. During the Hanukkah, the menorah has eight arms.

90 Ibidem, p. 93-95. This is not an old Judaic symbol, as it could be found in Antiquity in diverse cultural spaces and in the Middle Ages in Christian churches. In the 14th century, David ben Judah associated it to King David, whose shield showed a six-pointed star that granted him magical protection. The supposition that the hexagram appeared on Solomon’s ring was also taken into consideration - “the Seal of Solomon”.

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