Portrait of Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon Templo, 1665 – Illustrations of the Temple

Portrait of Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon Templo, 1665 – Illustrations of the Temple

Portrait of Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon “Templo.” Engraving by Conrad Buno, from the book “De Templo Hierosolymitano” by Jacob Judah Aryeh Leon Templo. [Helmstadt, Germany, 1665].
This portrait of Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon is encircled with the Latin inscription: “Effigies uiri doctissimi et clarissimi Jacobi Yehudæ Leonis Hebræi autoris Structuræ templi Salomonici facti anno 1641.” In the bottom margin are two illustrations of the Great Temple of Jerusalem.
This engraving is based on a portrait of Rabbi Leon “Templo” created by Salom Italia roughly twenty years earlier, in the 1740s.

R. Jacob Judah Leon Templo (1603 – after 1675), a 17th century Torah scholar in Amsterdam. Born in Portugal to a family of Spanish exiles, he studied in Amsterdam under the rabbi of the Neveh Shalom community, R. Yitzchak Uziel. He was renowned for his books on the prominent Biblical structures and utensils – the Tabernacle, Solomon's temple, and the Ark of the Covenant, which R. Leon described for the first time based on contemporary scientific knowledge. His pioneering work earned him renown throughout Europe, and drew the attention of contemporary rulers – King Charles II, William II Prince of Orange, and Augustus Duke of Brunswick (who commissioned German translations of the works). Following the success of his books, R. Judah Leon created a model of Solomon's temple with small scale utensils, earning the nickname of "Templo".

Approx. 18X12.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor tears, mended. Margins slightly cropped. Minor abrasions to paper.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, No. 117.011.016.