Yemenite Jewish silversmiths have long been recognised and admired for their craftsmanship and beautiful filigree work. Today, a father and son team, Ya'akov and Boaz Yemini of Jerusalem, are continuing their family's tradition.
By Janet Mendelsohn Moshe
The Jewish calendar gives plenty of opportunity for the use of beautifully fashioned ceremonial objects. A stylized wine goblet or delicate Sabbath candlesticks grace almost every Jewish home. Yehieh Yemini, a descendant of a Yeminite family which had been working with silver for generations, began his apprenticeship at Jerusalem's Bezalel School of Art in 1908, at the tender age of 11. The school had been founded just a few years earlier, and was trying to forge an original artistic style combining both eastern and western influences.
After Yehieh died in 1983, his workshop in the Jerusalem's Sha'are Hesed neighborhood continued as that of his son Ya'akov and grandson Boaz. Ya'akov lives in the beautiful home above the workshop, where he grew up. "I was literally born in this house," the 72-year-old explains. "I remember from my childhood how all members of the family worked together in all aspects of the creative process, from hammering out figurines to polishing pieces of silver," he recalls.
Boaz also grew up in the family business, and loved playing in the workshop. "I did not consider it a livelihood until after my army service, when I began studying at Bezalel as my father and grandfather before me had done," he says."But Bezalel had changed since then, and my artistic style includes the use of clean forms and developing an aesthetic simplicity," he explains. Just as Ya'akov had simplified the ornate designs of his father, Boaz further streamlined the work, almost completely abandoning the Yeminite tradition. However, though most of 46-year-old Boaz's designs are sleek and modern, occasionally a motif of his forefathers is evident, as in the pomegranates adorning a Torah scroll with exposed 'seeds' of garnet stones or silver hemispheres. But while the difference in style of the three generations is very clear, Ya'akov and Boaz show a great deal of respect for each other, eagerly admiring and praising each other's work.
In 1937, Yehieh Yemini was commissioned to create a gift for the coronation of King George VI. Some fifty years later, Ya'akov and Boaz created a silver fruit bowl for Queen Elizabeth II, adorned with pomegranates and date palms, two of the biblical Seven Species of the Holy Land. The Yeminis' work appears in Judaica exhibits all over the world, and in local museums at home. In several exhibits, the work of the grandfather, son and grandson are displayed together, with much of it representing the input of at least two generations. Recently, the Yeminis have literally 'branched' out, creating life-size interpretations of three of the seven species - the fig tree, the olive tree and the date palm - in the garden outside the studio.
The book of Exodus explains in great detail how the tabernacle was to be constructed. Rashi, the 12th-century biblical exegete explains that the meticulous details were given to teach us to be mindful of beauty. One glimpse at the finely crafted and graceful silver pieces created by the Yemini family reveals how Jewish ceremonial objects can indeed become treasured pieces of art.