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Original fileStamvaders Aser en Naftali
About This Work
Two separate panels show the patriarchs standing in landscape settings with attributes derived from their blessings in Genesis. On the left, Asher stands by a table laden with bread, fruit, and ornate vessels signifying abundance; on the right, Naphtali is accompanied by a large stag, referencing his description as a 'hind let loose.' Both figures are muscular and posed in the elegant, twisting Mannerist style characteristic of late 16th-century Antwerp engraving.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel held deep significance in Western esoteric thought, particularly in Kabbalah and Christian Hebraism, where they were frequently correlated with the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve stones of the High Priest's breastplate. This engraving by Aegidius Sadeler, who later became a key artist at the occult-oriented court of Rudolf II in Prague, reflects the era's systematic interest in biblical genealogy and typological symbolism.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Pingue solum tibi dona tulit cerealia multa, Regibus hinc prodes multis uinoq; paneq;: Nec Afaro desunt munera bacche tue Temperat abroſias cum tura dapes .9. Neptalin ex multis seruatus sepe periclis, Nostra tribus tectaq; fuit sæpissime bello, Corniger infestus ceruus ut a canibus Sed bonitate dei mox liberata fuit. .10.
Translation
The fertile soil has brought you many gifts of grain, Hence you provide for many kings with both wine and bread: Nor are the gifts of your Bacchus wanting to Asaro, When he tempers the ambrosial feasts with incense. 9. Naphtali, often saved from many perils, Was very often a dwelling for our tribe in war, Like a horned stag beset by hounds, But by the goodness of God was soon set free. 10.
Connected Texts
Genesis 49
The iconography of the patriarchs—Asher's rich food and Naphtali's stag—is directly based on the blessings Jacob bestowed upon his sons in this text.
Sefer Yetzirah
This foundational Kabbalistic text establishes the formal correspondence between the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 219 mm x width 307 mm
religious
Linked Data
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