Page 330 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text
P. 330
Genre: shtetl
in AR’s mind when he carved the two pieces, the blessing and
comforting models subject to syncretism in the emotion-
charged memories of his own family constellation.
91 Upper body of a woman
Wood
5” x 2”
86 Seated woman *
Wood
9.5” x 3.5”
120 Seated woman
Wood
7” x 2.75”
140 Seated woman
Wood
9.5” x 3.75”
AR carved several pieces radiating a calm maternal aura; in shtetl
garb, they may well embody the residue of his memories of his
own mother. No. 91 is a crudely-rendered half-round figure
from the waist up of a clothed woman. She stands without a
base; hands clasped in front, a scarf over her head. AR might
have been idly wondering what to do with this small scrap of
wood, and carved it into a primitive shtetl mother-figure.
Three other women are seated stiffly in barrel-back armchairs,
a style of furniture in which AR placed both male and female
subjects. Nos. 120 and 140 are rigidly posed and axially
symmetrical. Their only identifying costume detail is a babushka.
No. 140’s hands are empty and lying flat on the knees, while
no. 120’s are clasped. The latter piece was fashioned from a
laminated block, probably obtained from his son-in-law Max.
AR did not lacquer it, so it might not have meant much to him.
No. 86 reads a book, squinting and following the letters with
one finger, just as men read the scroll in the synagogue (see no.
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