Friday, November 28, 2014

How to make a Morrocan Star of David Mosaic


Thanks to Oded Israeli for referring me to this video

Monday, November 17, 2014

Ethiopian Star of David Appears for the first time in 1866



Imperial coat of arms of Ethiopia - Menelik II
CC
 Source: Wikimedia

Ian Campbell discovered that "The emergence of an official imperial Ethiopian coat of arms occurred during the reign of Emperor Menilek II [1889-1913]. There had been earlier coats of arms attributed to Ethiopian emperors, but these appeared only in European publications, and are not known to have been used in Ethiopia or even authorised by the sovereigns concerned... In 1866, during the reign of Tewedros [1818 –1868], the six-pointed star of David, which when incorporated with the Greek Cross is known as the seal of Solomon or the shield of Solomon, came to be depicted for the first time on a Ethiopian military award"
it appears on the Coat of Arms of Empress Zauditu [Zewditu I] (1916-1930)... and on the Coat of Arms of Empreror Haile Selassie I (1930-1973).

Source:   Orient meets occident at the imperial throne: the origins, evolution and symbolism of the Royal Ethiopian Coat Of Arms by Ian Campbell, published in
Äthiopien zwischen Orient und Okzident : wissenschaftliche Tagung der Gesellschaft Orbis Aethiopicus - Köln, 9.-11.10.1998 / Walter Raunig, Asfa-Wossen Asserate/ 

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Solomon’s Seal as a Flower


Richard Pearce tries to explain why did the Polygonatum flower get the name Solomon’s Seal in his video:

His  pdf version is on:

You"ll see some of my photographs from 6:13 minutes.

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Star of David on an Autograph Letter of a Pseudo-Messiah


Source: The Jewish Quarterly Review   >   Vol. 19, No. 1, Oct., 1906   >   An Autograph Letter of a Pseudo-Messiah by David S. Sassoon p. 163
Here's some quotes from this article:
"THE accompanying facsimile is reproduced from an original autograph letter [dated 1870] of the Pseudo-Messiah Judah ben Shalom of Yemen, known as Mari Shooker Kohail. Although he is not as famous as Shabethai Sevi, still a letter of his may be of some interest to the Jewish public... The document consists of one leaf of paper, size 14 x 8a inches... At the end of the letter are three seals... and the one in the center has Magen David surrounded by some mystical letters".