Large Papercut with Menorah and Verses for Blessing and Protection – Morocco

Large Papercut with Menorah and Verses for Blessing and Protection – Morocco
A very large papercut, with verses and symbols for blessing and protection, for the home or for the synagogue. Morocco, [late 19th or early 20th century].
Papercut; colorful aluminum foils; ink on paper.
Papercut, in a symmetric composition, decorated with a large seven-branched Menorah, with architectural and vegetal motifs, with arcades within which are Menorahs decorated with crescents and stars, Hamsas and large birds (peacocks or swans). The background of the papercut, which is made of white paper, consists of purple, pink, green and red shiny aluminum foils.
Above the Menorah in the central panel, appears the tetragrammaton; in the right and left panels appear text-frames with verses for protection and blessing, blessing of Esau and Jacob: "So God give thee…" (Genesis 27, 28-29, Genesis 28, 3-4).
Among hundreds of known Jewish papercuts, there are only a few from Morocco. This papercut belongs to a very small group of almost-identical large papercuts, decorated with shiny colorful papers and bearing verses of blessings, Menorahs and similar decorations. Dr. Giza Frenkel mentions in the introduction to the chapter "Jewish papercuts in North Africa" that this group of papercuts, "of large dimensions – similar to the 'Mizrah' of Jews in East Europe – decorated the walls of homes and synagogues. Sometimes it was presented… to a young couple, and then the inscriptions matched the occasion… often these 'Menorahs' were donated to a synagogue by people who could not afford donating a Torah scroll". Yehudit and Joseph Shadur mention in their book "Traditional Jewish Papercuts", that undoubtedly, all of these papercuts (about three), were created by one person. The papercut offered here is part of this group, examples of which are found in the collections of the Wolfson Museum Of Jewish Art (Heichal Shlomo) and the New-York Jewish Museum.
Approx. 75 X 92 cm. Framed, unexamined out of frame. Fair-good condition. Stains, tears and lacking pieces.
Literature:
1. Jews of Morocco, Aviva Moler-Lanzet (editor). The Israel Museum, 1983), p. 58.
2. Traditional Jewish Papercuts, by Joseph and Yehudit Shadur, Hanover & England, 2002, pp. 174, Ill. No. 5.27
3. Jewish Papercuts, a History and Guide, Joseph and Yehudit Shadur. Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California & Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1994, Plate 28.
4. Morocco, Jews and Art in a Muslim Land, Vivian B. Mann (ed.), Merrell, New York, 2000, Item no. 100, pp. 14-15.
5. Bemahzor Hayamim, Religious and Secular Customs in Jewish Ceremonial Art and Folklore, by Heshil Golnitzki, Friends of Jewish Folklore, Haifa, 1963, plate no 73; p. 66.
Provenance: Collection of Heshil Golnitzky, Haifa.