Pièces de Résistance
This exhibition will be continuing in Spring 2019. Notions of resistance, alongside fears and realities of oppression, resound throughout Jewish history. As a minority, Jews express their political aspirations, ideals of heroism, and yearnings of retaliation and redemption in their rituals, art, and everyday life. Centering on coins in The Magnes Collection, this exhibition explores how the Jewish revolts against Hellenism and the Roman occupation of Palestine (Judaea Capta) echo from antiquity into the present. "Pièces de Résistance" highlights a variety of collection items ranging from ancient coins and their replicas, to ritual objects for Purim and Hanukkah. It also prominently features art by Marc Chagall, Lazar Krestin, and Arthur Szyk that offer a modern visual representation of Jewish might in the face of persecution.