Two years of foraging around the globe have ended with Rabbi Nathan Slifkin amassing a collection of 100 examples of Noah's ark from the four corners of the world that will be exhibited at The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh.
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"Some of the objects were found in online sales sites such as eBay. Other internet sites and from people willing to sell from their private collections," Slifkin said. "I was looking for special items but found it interesting that in all countries, the emphasis of the piece was on the animals along with the particular cultural references. For example, an artist in Peru put his emphasis on a Lama and in Israel, biblical animals are highlighted more," he said.
What was a particularly interesting find?
I found a dragon box in China where Noah and his wife had slanted eyes and were surrounded by pandas, tigers and Asian water buffalo. That was a unique ark that was hand carved by an artist whose family was reluctant to sell. Only after we told them that it would be exhibited in a museum in the holy land did they agree."
Spilkin said the costs of the items differed from one place to the next and the most expensive were valued around $1,000. They will be displayed in an exhibit called The Ark of the Ark.