I saw this needlepoint deer art in an antiques store in Asbury Park, NJ – it kind of has an appearance of stained glass, don’t you think? The tag listed it as “Judaica Art,” which can be defined as ” … things pertaining to Jewish life and customs, especially when of a historical, literary, or artistic nature.” In this case, one can make out a seated deer, looking back behind itself, which I found out is a specific motif often used in Judaica, and has the following background info:
The image of a deer has been used in Jewish art since antiquity and is a common motif in Eastern European folk art. When it is an image of a deer turning and looking backward, it is directly related to a group of popular stories from early-modern Ashkenazi literature. In a beautiful passage from the Zohar, beginning with a verse from the Song of Songs, a description of a fleeing, turning deer, uses the deer as a metaphor for Divine mercy, comparing the love of God to a turning deer, constantly looking back at the Israelites who, by their sins, drive the deer away.
I think the visual appearance of an arch (rather than filling the full space with the imagery) is what suggests a stained glass concept, even though it’s clearly embroidery rather than glass … perhaps it’s a copy of a famous stained glass image? All of the black lines also suggest that it’s based on a stained glass piece. I’ll include another image with a closer look, so you can both see the embroidery a little better, but let’s take a look at this top section – it appears to be a bird flying overhead? It seems like the wings and feathers are arched up as the bird looks down at the deer.
I have to admit that I have very little experience of knowledge of Judaica, so if anyone has any info to share on this image and the deer and bird motifs, please do so in the comments section below.