CDHM The Miniature Way
April 2011, Issue 15
Dollhouse Tourism, Israel
Page 76

Israel is also not without its assortment of folk art.

Although traditionally seen as a German folk art, the art of paper cutting was borrowed by the Jews from their Christian and Muslim neighbors in the Middle Ages. It can be traced as far back as the 14th century, and continued to play a major cultural role in Jewish tradition through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The craft takes a simple art - cutting paper to create a design (think of making a snowflake in grade school) - and transforms it into an expression of devotion. The artist would take a line of text, from Psalms, for instance, and would strive to bring the imagery of the text alive in the paper-cut.

As time went on, paper-cutting became more esteemed, and soon paper-cut designs became connected with certain lifecycle events and holidays. Artists used paper-cutting to illustrate ketubot (marriage contracts), and would create certain designs for the Jewish festivals of Sukkot and Shavuot. While Jewish