doi: 10.2143/AWE.17.0.3284899 AWE 17 (2018) 271-272

THE LANDS MUSEUM,

John Boardman

AWE has proved itself as an essential source for study of the archaeology and history of the two major continents of the Old World and their interaction. In its way the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem covers the same ground, but restricted to the area from Italy to the Euphrates, demonstrating the art and archaeology of the religions that flourished there – Classical, Biblical, Mesopotamian (with Islamic). Its collections illustrate the area admi- rably yet seem little known to many scholars, probably because its publications seldom get beyond , where many have been published outside the familiar nexus of reviewed books. It has also been the venue for several important conferences. This note is intended to intro- duce scholars to the Museum and its work – since, as well as being a collection, it is also a teaching centre for young and old, whatever their faith. I well remember its Director advising a visiting youth on the, to him, strange phenomenon of Biblical subjects in Roman art. The Museum (BLMJ) was founded by Elie Borowski in 1992 and this year (2017) cele- brates its silver jubilee. Elie was a remarkable man and scholar. Born in Warsaw in 1913, his family later to perish in the Holocaust, he escaped with his brother, and went on to become a notable student in central European Universities (Italy, France, Germany, Greece), a leading scholar in the decipherment of early Sumerian script; then in a Polish/French regiment in the Second World War, escaping into Switzerland where he was interned but allowed to continue his studies in Geneva. He began also to collect and deal in antiquities (I met him in Basel in 1970 to see his engraved scarabs). He took his collection to Toronto, thinking that it might stay there as a Bible Lands Museum, but Toronto was not receptive in the right way, and he was persuaded by his wife, Batya, to take it where it belonged, Israel. He was given a notable hilltop site, next to the national and opposite the Knesset. He died in 2003 and his second wife, Batya, with her daughters, Amanda and Jessica and a devoted staff, con- tinue to manage the collection and its affairs. The collection continues to grow. The Museum has mounted many notable exhibitions of its holdings, with accompanying conferences and publications, for which it lends and borrows freely, and which are accompanied by scholarly catalogues. This note is in a the nature of an introduction to scholars who may not know the Muse- um’s collections and work, and with this in view I append a select list from its many publica- tions, some handled by Rutzen in Germany but many in Israel and not generally reviewed in the usual archaeological journals. They deserve to be more fully used as sources for any archae- ologist or art historian of the area.

J. Thimme, Kunst der Sarden bis zum Ende der Nuraghenzeit: Sammlung Elie Borowski (Munich 1983). S. Rozenberg, Enchanted Landscapes: Wall Paintings from the Roman Era (London 1994). J.G. Westenholz, The Jewish Presence in Ancient Rome (BLMJ 1994). J.G. Westenholz, Seals and Sealing in the Ancient (Proceedings of the Symposium held on 2 September 1993, Jerusalem) (BLMJ 1995). J.G. Westenholz, Royal Cities of the Biblical World (BLMJ 1996). 272 J. BOARDMAN

P. Erhart Mottahedeh, Out of Noah’s Art; Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection (BLMJ 1997). J.G. Westenholz, Capital Cities: Urban Planning and Spiritual Dimensions (Proceedings of the Sym- posium held on May 27–29, 1996, Jerusalem) (BLMJ 1998). Y. Garfinkel, The Yarmukians: Neolithic Art from Shaar Hagolan (BLMJ 1999). A. Spycket, The Human Form Divine (BLMJ 2000). J.G. Westenholz, Images of Inspiration: The Old Testament in Early Christian Art (BLMJ 2000). J.G. Westenholz, Cuneiform Inscriptions: The Emar Tablets (Groningen 2000). M. Bernheimer, Glories of Ancient Greece: Vases and Jewelry from the Borowski Collection (BLMJ 2001). R.S. Bianchi, Reflections on Ancient Glass from the Borowski Collection (Mainz 2002). J.G. Westenholz, Dragons, Monsters and Fabulous Beasts (BLMJ 2004). J.G. Westenholz, Let there be Light: Oil lamps from the Holy Land (BLMJ 2004). M. Bernheimer, Ancient Gems from the Borowski Collection (Ruhpolding/Mainz 2007). M. Kunze, Griechische und römische Bronzen und Metallarbeiten (Ruhpolding/Mainz 2007). U. Jäger and S. Kansteiner, Ancient Metalwork from the Black Sea to China in the Borowski Collection (Ruhpolding/Mainz 2011). J. Boardman, Pure Gold (Catalogue) (BLMJ 2011). S. Rozenberg, Gods, Heroes and Mortals in Ancient Greece (Catalogue) (BLMJ 2017). Guide to the Collection (BLMJ 2002).

Beazley Archive Classics Centre 66 St Giles Oxford UK [email protected]