Frank Meisler (1925 - 2018) Israeli, sculpture of gold and silver overlay on metal depicting a Passover seder overlooking the Mount of Olives adjacent to Jerusalem's sacred Old City skyline attributed to the elite of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. Purchased directly from the artist in Jerusalem. Stamp on marble base reads "PASSOVER" and "FRANK MEISLER - ISRAEL." Exterior depicts Jerusalem and hinged temple doors with Hagaddah text on them. Doors open to reveal more scripture and the Four Sons of the Pesach ritual, along with a family in the midst of Passover. An extensive Hebrew prayer on reverse side.

Size: 10 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.

#2084 .

Frank Meisler was born in the city-state of Danzig in 1925, now known as Gdansk, Poland. The unique status of the city, conferred by the Treaty of Versailles, made it a melting pot for Jews, Christians, and numerous ethnicities and cultures, before being absorbed by the Nazis during the 1939 invasion of Poland. Meisler escaped via Kindertransport and wound up in London, England. His parents perished in Auschwitz, and he joined the Royal Air Force before studying architecture at the University of Manchester. In the late 1950s he moved to Israel, opening a workshop and gallery in the Old City of Jaffa. Many of his statues, monuments, and sculptures depict the struggles and daily life of the Jewish people, and nearly all of them incorporate movement and hidden compartments, symbolic of the Diaspora and the careful way Jews avoided openly practicing their faith for many centuries in order to escape persecution and genocide. This particular piece has a small dog sleeping beneath the seder table that is modeled after Meisler's own childhood pet.

Location C4