Treasure Hunt!

What do you think of when you hear the word “treasure”?

It’s a safe bet that the first thing that pops into your mind is gold, coins, or jewelry – perhaps a treasure chest or a hoard. Maybe you think of a treasure that’s buried deep inside the ground or in the middle of the ocean – and then perhaps also of the lucky person who discovered it (why wasn’t it me?!?)

But a treasure doesn’t have to be material: it can also be cultural (like music or folk tales), historical (like relics that teach us about the past), or spiritual (like prayers). While it’s often associated with abundance, a treasure can also be one single thing (like a skull that is hundreds of years old and is studded with precious stones); it can be shared by all human beings, or at least by a large group of people, or it can have a purely personal value and be precious for specific individuals, like children for their parents; and it can also be totally ordinary and simple, even dirty or damaged – and still be the most precious thing on earth to its owner. 

In this exhibition, you will find examples of all kinds of treasure, and you will see that what is considered a treasure can vary between different people, cultures, and periods. You will encounter hoards that are thousands of years old and objects that are treasured by distant cultures, but also artworks from Israel and all over the globe that use images of treasures to communicate ideas and feelings.