Original Acrylic with metallic acrylic elements, sculptural

12" x 12" on Canvas.

The Meaning behind this piece:

This rendering, a replica of a 2nd Temple period, two-thousand year old coin minted by the Judeans during the First Revolt against the Roman Empire, lasting four years, from 66- 70ce, ending with the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jersualem.

The script might not look familiar to many as Hebrew, but it is actually what is known as Paleo Hebrew, used by the Israelites before the destruction of the 1st Temple and Babylonian exile. When many Jews returned to Israel from Babylon, under the blessing of Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, Ezra and his followers rebuilt the community and the Temple in Jerusalem. 2nd Temple period coins issued during the Judean revolt against the Roman Empire deliberately used the paleo-Hebrew script as it reflected the Jewish people’s orignal alphabet before the Babylonian captivity and exile of Jews in 586BCE, when they had sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael, or the Land of Israel, free from imperial forces.

The Hebrew words are “לגאלת ציון” or “For the Redemption of Zion.”

This artifact is not a 19th century, European import, but a two-thousand year old piece of currency, bearing the slogan of/and minted by an indigenous people in their own land, resisting foreign rule.

A nation's currency can offer a window into its history, and the values, struggles and aspirations during the time of its creation.