Founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz, the Bezalel School was named for the artisan chosen by God in the Bible. It comprised more than 30 different workshops specializing in carpet-weaving, silver design, wood and ivory carving, and other skills. E.M. Lilien, Ze’ev Raban and Meir Gur-Arie were among the school’s distinguished artists.

Both the secular and sacred worlds of Jewish life were represented in the academy’s output of artillery-shell vases, coffeepots, rugs and ashtrays, as well as silver prayer-book bindings, menorahs and illustrated sacred scrolls. These objects combined to create a graphically stunning narrative of Jewish history that gave the burgeoning nation a visual identity, both at home and around the world.