Israel Museum September-November 2012
Visiting Jerusalem is an absolute must for any traveler to Israel or religious pilgrim especially the Israel museum. In addition to a number of holy sites of interest in the spiritual capital of the world, there also exist numerous cultural points of interest for better exploring all types of different styles of art, artifacts and archeology.
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem has a number of interesting current and future exhibits and displays, with some of the most exciting exhibits highlighted here.
- Crossplay: Male Actors, Female Roles in Kabuki Theatre
Exhibit is Currently Featured until November 10, 2012
Kabuki theatre is an extremely well-known, popular type of Japanese theatre dating back to the 1600’s, featuring highly stylized dance, music, pantomime and theatre. Kabuki theatre actors were highly regarded by their peers for their extreme costumes and makeup, with rice flour used to give their skin a geisha-white effect.
The exhibit explores this 400-year old artistic form in 30 prints and paintings in the Israel Museum’s collection of over 500,000 art pieces and artifacts. The exhibit shows the rich, vivid storylines and dance numbers that Kabuki actors were so famous for, with men typically performing the female roles, much like in Shakespearian times. These gorgeous prints and paintings reveal all of this and more, and are an exciting glimpse into Japanese history.
- Jewish Women’s Dresses from Ionannina, Greece, from the First Half of the 19th Century
Exhibition is Currently Featured until December 31, 2012
Lovers of fashion unite. This exhibit features exquisite traditional dresses worn by women in the Jewish community of Ionannina, Greece, in what is thought to be the first half of the 19th century. Designed in a minimalist style, these dresses are rooted in Spanish style, but also Byzantine, Ottoman, European and Greek influences. Can you see all of these inspirations in the garments? Do any modern day designers draw from these traditions? Maybe it looks like something you’ve seen in the Christian Lacroix line or maybe something from Yves St. Laurent, a few years ago? You’ll never know if you don’t go!
- White Gold: Revealing the World’s Earliest Coins
Exhibition is Currently Featured until March 30, 2013
Come see a fabulous collection of 500 of the first electrum coins ever minted, from 7th century Asia Minor. These coins are extraordinarily beautiful, and were created using an alloy of gold and silver, which is also known as ‘white gold’ or electrum. These coins feature a variety of intricately crafted designs, with images from Greek mythology like Pegasus, Zeus and Apollo, animals like a lion attacking a bull and the head of an eagle, as well as a variety of athletes and warriors.
Come if you’re fascinated by the cultural significance of ancient currency or if you’d like to see to see beautifully crafted old coins made of gold and silver.
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem is the perfect place to spend an afternoon, complete with guided museum tours in a variety of languages like English, Hebrew, French, Russian and Spanish.
The museum also features the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest surviving copy of the bible, dating somewhere between 408 BCE-318 CE, depending on which archeologist you ask. This is arguably one of the museum’s most significant exhibits. The 972 texts are so sensitive that they cannot be viewed in direct light, and are rotated every 3-4 months to minimize any exposure.
For excellent special exhibits, or for ongoing exhibits of biblical proportions, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem is an ideal destination point during your trip to Israel.
