"If I forget thee Jerusalem" – Large Colored Lithograph – Jerusalem, 1926 – Moshe Mizrachi

"If I forget thee Jerusalem" – colored lithograph. [Jerusalem], 1926. Made by Moshe ben Yitzchak Mizrachi (Sha'a).
In the center of the print are four sections, one above the other: On the upper part are illustration of the Temple Mount, flags and Stars of David, doves with letters in their beaks. In the second section is a depiction of The Binding of Isaac: Isaac is lying on the altar and an angel is holding Abraham's knife. On one side is a ram entangled in the thicket. In the third section is an illustration of Abraham and Isaac on their way to the "akeda" and "his two servant-men" are smoking a narghile and guarding the donkey. On the bottom, is an illustration of the Western Wall. The print is flanked by pillars with cartouches crowned by a pair of lions. Inside the cartouches are illustrations of the holy sites: Rachel's tomb, the tomb of Zecharya the Prophet, the tomb of Yosef the Tzaddik, the tomb of R' Meir Ba'al HaNess, Yad Avshalom and the tomb of the Rambam. With floral ornamentations and inscriptions of appropriate verses for each part.
The artist Moshe ben Yitzchak Mizrachi (Sha'a) was born before 1870 in Tehran, ascended to Eretz Israel in 1890 and changed his name to Mizrachi. He lived in Jerusalem and became a scribe. For his livelihood, he opened a store for frames and mirrors in the spice market of the Old City. He died in the 1930s. He was known in Jerusalem as the "lamp artist" (Shiviti). (See: Art and crafts in Eretz Israel in the 19th century, Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1979, pp. 118-124).
Lithograph,46X59 cm. Spotting, creases and wear, restored tears. Mounted on paper for restoration.