Jerusalem olive wood pilgrimage souvenir

This object belongs to the production of Jerusalem olive wood souvenirs, a flourishing craft in the nineteenth century intended for pilgrims and visitors to the holy sites. Boxes, albums, paperweights, and bindings were carved from olive wood of the Holy Land, a wood laden with biblical significance, and decorated with views of the sanctuaries and inscriptions. This local industry, fueled by the rise of religious tourism and missions, supplied the diaspora and travelers with objects materializing the link to the ancestral land. Olive wood craftsmanship became a hallmark of Jerusalem's applied arts in the modern period.