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    Artist

  • Simon, Siegfried

    • Title

  • Illustrated Wimpel for Ronald Frank Bloch

  • Physical Description

    1 textile : paint and ink on linen and satin ; 7 3/4" x 134" ; 20 x 340 cm

  • Date

    1944

  • Notes

    The name Siegfried Simon (presumably the creator) is written on the back of the wimpel, along with an address in Newark, NJ.

  • Summary

    The wimpel is decorated with colorful line drawings and Hebrew and English language text. A family tree is the main design motif, incorporating images of branches, flowers, pine cones, and leaves throughout. Specific buildings and geographic locations related to family history are prominently featured as well. Judaica elements and birds are also represented in the design. A blue satin trim borders the textile.

  • Subject

    Flowers; Judaica; Torah binders

  • Medium

    Ceremonial textiles; Torah ornaments

  • Accession Number

  • URL

Biographical/Historical Information

Wimpels date back to the Jews of Germany, particularly Southern Germany. After a boy's brith mila the mother would clean the cloth used as a swaddling cloth, cut it into segments of equal length and sew them together. It was then painted or embroidered with the infant's Hebrew name, date of birth, and the traditional blessing, "May God raise him to a life of Torah, marriage and good deeds." The wimpel would be presented to the synagogue as a Torah binder and be used on the boy's bar mitzva, thus turning it into a concrete, as well as symbolic, link between his confirmation of entering the covenant and his traditional coming of age.

The wimpel showcases the family tree of Ronald Frank Bloch, born January 28, 1944. Family members and geographic locations named on the wimpel include Sigmund Wolf (1844-1908) and Jeanette Levi (1855-1940) from Galingen, David Bloch (1830-1917) and Nanette Meier (1836-1926) from Sulzburg, Benno Hecht (1831-1913) and Rosa Kessel (1849-1901) from Schroda, and Isack Schmukler (1845-1905) and Frieda Schlossberg (1848-1921) from Strassburg Wert.

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Citation

Simon, Siegfried: Illustrated Wimpel for Ronald Frank Bloch, Leo Baeck Institute, 2018.24.