(Ebook) Jewish Symbols and Secrets: A Fifteenth-Century Spanish Carpet by Anton Felton ISBN 9780853038344, 0853038341

(Ebook) Jewish Symbols and Secrets: A Fifteenth-Century Spanish Carpet by Anton Felton ISBN 9780853038344, 0853038341

   Jewish Symbols and Secrets also traces the history of the Star of David in Judaism, from Biblical times to 1600 C.E. The hitherto neglected role of textiles in Jewish culture is uncovered, as is the ancient history of the Sephardi weavers of Spain and the Mediterranean, from Biblical to Islamic times. Further insights are gained in the oft-debated question as to the total number of Jews who converted to Christianity. In understanding the worlds and the guarded secret lives of the people who came together to create this carpet, we now see it as an extraordinary and beautifully encoded statement of Jewish faith and survival. *** "...Felton's book presents a fascinating portrayal of the mysterious world of the conversos. He provides the historical background for the Jewish situation in 15th century Spain and also discusses the centrality of weaving in Murcia, Spain...He considers the role played by carpets in Jewish life and chronicles the work of Jewish weavers in Spain and North Africa.