East Hampton Woman Uncovers Rare 16th Century Tapestry

EAST HAMPTON, NY — Foraging for antique textiles has sent an East Hampton woman around the world, hunting through flea markets for precious pieces of the past.

But now, Jill Lasersohn, an East Hampton local collector of antique tapestries, has uncovered a particularly rare find: She's uncovered a 16th century Hebrew tapestry within her collection, according to Rabbi Joshua Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.

Lasersohn said she knew the tapestry had originated from Germany, but she didn’t know its purpose or what lettering on the fabric said.

After bringing it to Rabbi Franklin at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, she discovered that the tapestry, which includes the artist’s name in the embroidered Hebrew, “Weirel Machit,” was made as a ceremonial object for a Torah scroll, though it’s unclear how exactly it was used, a release from the Jewish Center of the Hamptons said.

Bernhard Purin, director of the Jewish Museum of Munich, helped reveal that the Icklé Bros., whose label is on the textile, were embroidery manufacturers in St. Gallen and were Jewish.

The German note on the corner explains that the tapestry was created in honor of a bar mitzvah celebration, the release said.

Lasersohn studied textiles and design in college and worked for four years at Town & Country Magazine in New York, Rabbi Franklin said.

Her husband’s career included frequent trips to Paris, where Lasersohn used her free time to seek out textiles from the 18th century; her collection includes 3,000 museum-quality textiles and 600 books for reference, Rabbi Franklin said.

Photo by Richard Lewin Professional Photography, soniboy@aol.com.