É. Apor (ed.): David Kaufmann Memorial Volume: Papers Presented at the David Kaufmann Memorial Conference, November 29, 1999, Budapest.
ORMOS, István: David Kaufmann and his Collection
DAVID KAUFMANN AND HIS COLLECTION by the Sun, the Moon and the stars. On the steps of his throne sit various animals. 177 There is only one known parallel to this most unique representation in the synagogue at Dura Europos, but the difference of nearly eleven centuries between the two is likely to preclude any direct connection and we must conclude that the two artists created similar works on the basis of the same text. At the same time we cannot completely discount the idea that in mediaeval Jewry there perhaps existed a tradition of the transmission of pictorial representations going back to Antiquity and still active in the Middle Ages. 17 8 This representation of Solomon is remarkable because it unites in one composition, without chronological order, all the main feats of Solomon's career: the completion of the Temple, the judgement, to which he owes his reputation of the wise king, and the adoration of the Queen of the South, which mirrors the universal radiation of his reign. The stars, the Sun and the Moon echo medieval legends perhaps which attribute cosmic power to Solomon. 1 7' Perhaps the most famous manuscript in the whole Kaufmann Collection is the socalled Kaufmann Haggadah (MS Kaufmann A 422). 18 0 It was produced in 14th century Catalonia. The first scholars to study it considered this manuscript to be of Italian origin. Subsequent research, however, traced its origins to Catalonia. 18 1 It contains the NARKISS concluded that we might have Solomon's judgement before our eyes. NARKISS 1967-1968. 133. Cf. the corresponding scene in the so-called Second Nürnberg Haggadah (fol. 40v), which leaves no doubt as to its interpretation. MÜLLER - VON SCHLOSSER, Bilderhaggaden 1898. 169-170 [Fol. 40'], Tafel XXVI. NARKISS - SF.D-RAJNA 1981. Card No. 164. It may be remarked that in Jewish mysticism, the Qabbalah, the Queen of Sheba is sometimes identified with Lilith, who in turn is sometimes regarded as identical with one of the two females requesting Solomon's decision. Gershom SCHOLEM, Lilith und die Königin von Saba. In: Die Königin von Saba 1988. 165. '"MÜLLER - VON SCHLOSSER, Bilderhaggaden 1898. 119. SED-RAJNA 1983. 29-30. NARKISS SED-RAJNA 1988. Tripartite Mahzor, vol. I. Cards Nos. 34-38. The representation mainly follows the Targum Shenito Esther based on 1 Kings 1 0:1 8-21. SED-RAJNA 1987. 126-127, 130 [fig. No. 148], On the symbolic interpretation of Solomon's throne see RFAU 1955-1959. II. I. 293-294. Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie 1968-1976. IV. 21-22. King Solomon's seal. Ed. Rachel Milstein. Jerusalem [c. 1995], 20-28, 183-182 [!]. On Solomon's throne in the Islamic tradition see Priscilla SOUCEK, Solomon's Throne/Solomon's Bath: Mode! or Metaphor? = Ars Orientális 23 (1993) 113-114. 17 8 Ibid. 127. Cf. ibid. 155-156. For another remarkable representation of Solomon's throne in medieval art see Mathias KÖHLER, Bebenhausen. Klosteranlage und Schloß. (Führer. Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten.) Heidelberg [c. 2000] 30. 17 9 S ED-R AJNA 1983. 29-30. 18 0 It is worth mentioning in connection with this manuscript that the earlier pagination was replaced by /?)/zY;-numbers at its restoration in 1987. Consequently, earlier references to page-numbers do not coincide with modern references to folio-numbers. 163
