Covering nearly 4,000 years, this fascinating, copiously illustrated book traces the history of Jewish art from its origins -- the Temple in Jerusalem, c. 2000 B.C. -- up through the work of 20th-century artist Marc Chagall. The first truly comprehensive treatment of the subject, Jewish Art surveys the art produced within and inspired by, Jewish civilization on five continents.The monumental volume covers not only religious painting, sculpture, and architecture but also mosaics, frescoes illuminated manuscripts, silver, textiles, and other decorative objects. It also reports on recent archaeological discoveries on the site of the Jerusalem temple, in Galilee, and in Dora Europos, the synagogue on the banks of the Euphrates the contains the first known Biblical images.Many of the works featured here are published for the first time; among them are synagogues in eastern and central Europe that were preserved in the former Soviet bloc.