Official meeting at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem

On June 1, 2009, Alexey Shaburov, Director of the Contemporary Museum of Calliraphy and his Counsellor Lyudmila Kulanina were officially received in Jerusalem by the Head of the National Library of Israel. During the meeting Director General Mr. Shmuel Har-Noy introduced to his Russian guests the heads of different library departments who told about their work

From left to right: Lyudmila Kulanina, Shmuel Har-Noy, Alexey Shaburov, Avraham Borshevsky

They showed invaluable illustrated medieval folios written in Hebrew, old maps of the Holy Land, ornate Ketubbot (traditional Jewish marriage contracts) made in baroque Italy.

The Western Wall of the Jerusalem Temple

The National Library of Israel was founded in 1892, based on private collections, and in a year already it became the largest research center of Israel. The gems of the collection are rare biblical and Hebraic samples, manuscripts by Maimonides (1135 — 1204) and other illustrious rabbis, personal archives of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. The continuously increasing collection of the Library amounts to about 5,000,000 storage units that are being digitized to be shown on the Internet.

Archives of the National Library of Israel

The management of the library expertly appreciated the International Exhibition of Calligraphy represented by its General Manager. Understanding the importance of the project the National Library of Israel kindly donated reproductions of the traditional Hebrew calligraphy masterpieces to the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy. These works of art demonstrate the close interconnection between the ancient art of the People of the Book and contemporary works of the two leading Israeli calligraphers participating in the project.

The National Library of Israel

The exhibits donated by the National Library of Israel will be demonstrated to the wide audience at the Second International Exhibition of Calligraphy to be held at Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Ccenter from October 14 to November 14, 2009.

Mordecai Ardon’s stained-glass window (1984) dedicated to Isaiah’s vision of eternal peace The National Library of Israel

Source: Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy