Elaborate exceptional multi-colored Genealogical Tree relating to Families Mitzkon, Antokolsky, Cohen, Mileikovsky and Borozin

(FAMILY TREE).

(Vilna)

1901, etc

Composed with gouache, water-color and pen-an-ink on paper, with varied colored “scraps” tipped in. Written in Hebrew interspersed with Yiddish, German and Russian. Photographic illustration of the artist below.

An extraordinarily vibrant and highly skilled rendering of a complex Family-Tree recording many dozens of names and inter-linked relationships. Includes dates of birth, death and marriage of family-members. Prominently featured is a central figure of the family: Rabbi Hillel Mileikovsky (Salanter, 1821-99), prime disciple of R. Israel Salanter. The artist notes that Hillel Mileikovsky is an "Even Tov BeMishpachteinu" ("a precious stone in our family") and is consequently twinned with the depiction of a twinkling colored ruby. Mileikovsky's biographer, M. Zalmanowitz ("Zichron Hillel," Vilna, 1902) does not record the Rabbi's mother's name, neither the Rabbi's father-in-law, which this comprehensive family tree does indeed supply. His mother was Rachel, the daughter of R. Moshe Mitzkon of Vilna and his children included: Sheina, the wife of Abraham Michel Chul, Rabbi of Philadelphia; Sarah, the wife of the son of the religious Proto-Zionist R. Shmuel Mohilever and Rachel, married to R. Mordechai Milevitsky. The Mitzkon Family were prominent in a range of communal activities in Vilna. See M. Zeira, Rabotheinu SheBaGolah, Vol. II (1998) pp. 300-10. The Artist identifies himself in a cartouche at the upper left corner: "Composer of this valuable memoir and his lineage, Joseph Zelig ben Jacob, born 1855." The artist records that the time expended on this work was 8,400 hours over a period of 4,200 days (1901-11). In the lower right-hand corner, a hand is depicted holding a colorful framed card with an inscription in German: "As a present for the fortieth birthday of my beloved son Jacob Judey, 17 May 1929, from Father Josef Judey, Berlin." An item of jewish folk-art of intense interest and originality