9,000-year-old stone mask from Hebron Hills on display at Israel Museum
On public view for the first time, the mask is part of the ‘Common Ground: Israeli Art Meets Archaeology’ exhibit, which juxtaposes contemporary art with ancient artifacts
Gavriel Fiske is a reporter at The Times of Israel
A very rare 9,000-year-old stone mask hailing from the South Hebron Hills has gone on public display for the first time at the Israel Museum, part of the museum’s new “Common Ground: Israeli Art Meets Archaeology” exhibit.
The limestone mask, discovered in 2018 in a field near the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Hever, is one of only 15 or 16 known, with most in the hands of private collectors.
Masks of this type are traced to the south Hebron area, where archaeologists say their use was part of a belief system developed during the transition from the late stone age to an agricultural society. Their facial features can vary, and the masks might each represent a specific person or ancestor, according to an Israel Museum official quoted in a 2014 National Geographic article about the masks.
The mask on display is composed of a single piece of stone, highly polished and smoothed, with eyeholes and delineated facial features including teeth and cheekbones. The mask has several holes around the edge where straps could be attached, indicating to experts that the artifact was meant to be worn or attached to something.
The museum’s new “Common Ground” exhibit pairs archaeological finds with contemporary Israeli art, and the Hebron hills mask is displayed alongside a 2022 modern mask by artist Netally Schlosser, created using 3D-printing technology.
The exhibition is described by the museum as one that “presents archaeological finds spanning millennia, in materials such as stone, pottery, wood, and metal, alongside contemporary drawings, sculptures, video works, photographs, and installation art… ancient objects of archaeology complement and enrich our understanding of recent artworks. Sparking surprising connections, the creativity of the distant past and immediate present meet on common ground to inspire us with faith in the human spirit.”
A presentation and talk by curators Tanya Sirakovich and Ahiad Ovadia about the “Common Ground: Israeli Art Meets Archaeology” exhibit is to be held on Tuesday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Israel Museum. The talk is included in the price of admission and will be in Hebrew.