Folk Art Wood Carving, Said to Represent David & Jonathan. 

Depicts a three-dimensional, hand-painted ceramic figurine. Two human figures stand on either side of a central pillar or column. The figure on the left wears a blue top and brown bottoms, while the one on the right wears an orange top and green bottoms. Both figures interact with a green plant growing up the side of the central light blue pillar, which has a flat surface on top—possibly for holding an object like a candle. The figurine’s base and background feature earthy tones. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Size: 10 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. 

#3400 #8 . 

In the Books of Samuel in the Miqra (Hebrew Bible), David and Jonathan were heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel who formed a covenant, taking a mutual oath to one another. Jonathan was the son of Saul, king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and David was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, and Jonathan’s presumed rival for the crown. When David slew Goliath he brought the giant’s head before Saul and Jonathan, and the text says that “the soul of Jonathan was joined to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.” (1 Samuel 18:1) David eventually became king of Israel, having been wed to Saul’s daughter Michal, but only after Jonathan and Saul’s other sons were killed on Mount Gilboa while David was in exile, which led to Saul committing suicide. The covenant formed between Jonathan and David led him to graciously seat Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth at his own royal table instead of eradicating the former king Saul’s line. Jewish scholars interpreted the relationship between the men as a prime example of “unselfish love,” and Christian scholars saw it as a natural intimate camaraderie between two young soldiers. While traditional mainstream religious interpretations of the relationship have cited it as an early account of platonic love or an example of homosociality, more and more scholars from the late Middle Ages onwards have emphasized what they see as elements of homoeroticism in the story. In particular, the Renaissance artists Donatello and Michelangelo both brought out strong homoerotic elements in their respective sculptures depicting the youthful David, and modern theorists have often used the two, along with the relationships of historical warriors/friends/enemies like Gilgamesh and Enkidu or Achilles and Patroclus, to demonstrate the fluidity of sexuality and gender norms in antiquity.

Commensurate with age.