Jewish Copper Plate, Mogens Ballin

Jewish Copper Plate, Mogens Ballin
Copper plate, hammered (repoussé) and engraved, created by the artist Mogens Ballin, Denmark, ca. 1900. Stylized embossed ornamentations in the center: Tablets of the Law (engraved), a depiction of the priestly benediction gesture; a large bird (cock) holding a cluster of grapes in its mouth, a flowerpot and a tree with pomegranates. On the rim - engraved and embossed floral patterns, a pair of Shofars (ram's horns) and the inscription "Michael miYemin Mehalel veGavriel mismol memalel" (prayer). Length: 20.5 cm. Width: 22 cm. Hook for hanging on the reverse. Marked.
The artist Mogens Ballin (1871-1914), a notable Jewish-Danish post-impressionist painter and metalsmith, was born in Copenhagen, and was part of the Pont-Aven School group of artists, active in Pont-Aven (Brittany, France). He studied French with Paul Gauguin's wife, and at her apartment he got acquainted with the works of Gauguin. In 1889, he went to Paris where he met Gauguin and his friends who together made up the Nabis group of artists – an avant-garde post-impressionist art group. After spending several years in France and in Italy, he returned to Copenhagen in the 1890s, and in 1899 opened a metalwork workshop together with the Danish sculptor Siegfried Wagner. The two artists worked with tin, copper and silver, creating mainly lamps and jewelry in Jugendstil and Art-Nouveau styles.
Most works by Ballin are not influenced by Jewish motifs, however he created in his workshop a Hanukkah Lamp and a Zedakah Box. This plate is one of a very few examples of Judaica made by Ballin.