Marc Chagall Medal - King David

Marc Chagall Medal - King David

The Entry into Jerusalem" is one of the works in the tapestry adorning the Knesset, Israel's parliament. After King David established his capital in Jerusalem, he and the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city in a joyous procession "with all manner of instruments... with harps and with psalteries and with timbrels and with sistra and with cymbals". Around the figure of David dancing and playing the lyre before the Ark, Marc Chagall unites the past, present and future of the people of Israel in a colorful and exquisite composition. Chagall blends David and his procession harmoniously with Hassidim in kaftans and pioneers and landscapes and symbols ranging from biblical times to the period of the modern state.

Obverse: colored lithograph depicting King David playing the lyre and dancing, taken from Chagall's drawing "The Entry into Jerusalem". Around him, figures from the past and present dance and are joyful. The artist's signature. The words "KING DAVID" in Hebrew and English.

Reverse: seven-branched candelabrum, a detail from Chagall's mosaic in the Knesset, with the artist's signature in Hebrew. The reverse of the modillion is smooth.