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Colorful terracotta figure group of 3 Jewish men, a boy, and a goat

Object | Accession Number: 2016.184.594

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    Colorful terracotta figure group of 3 Jewish men, a boy, and a goat

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Colorful terracotta figure group, Kinder Israel, modelled by Anton Sohn in early 19th century Germany. It is a caricatured depiction of Jewish stereotypes, such as the livestock dealer and the scholar/student. Sohn (1769-1841), trained as a church painter, established a workshop in Zizenhausen, Germany, that was celebrated for its exceptionally detailed and elaborate terracotta figurines. His subject matter ranged widely and included genre and satirical groups on popular, topical themes, and religious figurines which were favorites for Christmas displays in homes, as well as businesses. This figure group is one of the more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.
    Artwork Title
    Kinder Israel
    Date
    manufacture:  after 1828-before 1841
    Geography
    manufacture: Zizenhausen (Germany)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
    Contributor
    Compiler: Peter Ehrenthal
    Artisan: Anton Sohn
    Biography
    The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.

    Physical Details

    Language
    Hebrew German
    Classification
    Decorative Arts
    Category
    Ceramics
    Physical Description
    Molded, polychrome, painted terracotta figure group of 4 people standing in a row. On the left is a gray haired man with a short beard and large nose, wearing a tricorn hat and patterned vest, and picking his nose with his left thumb and index finger. His staff hangs from that arm, and on his right arm is the rope for the white goat, with udders and long metal horns, at his knee. Watching him is a young, cross-eyed man with black hair, jutting chin, top hat, and cape, carrying a stack of books. Next, looking at the first 2, is a small boy holding close to the arm of a man with brown curly hair. Their backs are to the viewer and both wear long orange coats and brown top hats. The figures stand on a green oval base with a top textured to look like grass and a paper label on the front. The figures are extremely detailed and the primary colors are varnished browns, oranges, and greens. It is an open, hollow, flatback sculpture, painted light brown on the back. See 2016.184.52 for another version of this work.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Width: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Depth: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm)
    Materials
    overall : terracotta, paint, metal, ceramic glaze, paper, adhesive, ink
    Inscription
    front, on paper label, black ink : [Hebrew text] Kinder Israel. [Children of Israel.]

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Personal Name
    Sohn, Anton, 1769-1841.

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The figure group was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Special Collection
    Katz Ehrenthal Collection
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:11:15
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn545014

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