Curators: Dr. Andreina Contessa and Dr. Doron Lurie

Are a gilded throne, a decorated silver crown and a magnificent coat a substitute for a flesh-and-blood monarchy?

The exhibition presents the complex relationship between Jewish culture and the idea of monarchy, through magnificent royal objects, aristocratic symbols and ancient art treasures, as well as examines the Jewish conception of monarchy, kings and queens. In Jewish thought, God is the Holy, Eternal and Almighty King. The kings and queens of flesh and blood are described with their human shortcomings and weaknesses. The demand for a king is described in the Bible as an act of rebellion by the People of Israel to their God and illustrates the conflict between the human desire for a tangible ruler and the complex conception of kingship in the Jewish world.

Against this background, the symbols of the monarchy take on different and new meanings in Jewish tradition and art.

The exhibition, designed for the whole family, leads visitors on a journey following the different meanings and expressions of the crown. The crown is the Torah crown used to adorn the Torah scrolls and emphasizes the importance and centrality of the Torah in Jewish life but it also has the priesthood crown and the royal crown and another lesser-known crown of Shem Tov- the Good Name. The exhibition traces the various crowns and tells their story.

The Jews of Italy, who were influenced by the Italian visual culture, harnessed the values ​​of Italian art and aesthetics in favor of the production of sacred objects of exceptional artistic quality. The exhibition will feature valuable crowns originating in Italy and will reveal to the audience rare treasures displayed in all their beauty and glory.

Curator: Dr. Anastazja Buttitta