No Thing Dies

2017

Works

Text

Archive

Inkjet print, gold leaves, 154X116 cm — Vitrine No. 1 *Under the surface only the mereness of things could be seen*

Inkjet print, gold leaves, 161X122 cm — Vitrine No. 2 *Dreamtime. All this and more he had seen while asleep*

Inkjet print, gold leaves, 170X150 cm — Vitrine No. 3 *New head – when he made the wrong movement he didn’t know what harmony he was tearing apart*

Inkjet print, gold leaves, 142X120 cm — Vitrine No. 4 *(Take, for instance, this) true story*

Inkjet print, 99X70 cm — Vitrine No. 5 *Neither dream nor riddle*

Inkjet print, 230X150 cm — Vitrine No. 6 *It is impossible to explain how suddenly everything stood still*

Inkjet print, 193X150 cm — Vitrine No. 7 *Cover story*

Inkjet print, 257X73 cm — Vitrine No. 8 *Turkish textile*

Inkjet print, 214X150 cm — Vitrine No. 9 *The return of things that are no more*

Inkjet print, 257X120 cm — Vitrine No. 10 *Cover story (late)*

Inkjet print, 104X65 cm — Vitrine No. 11 *On the most beautiful thing in the world*

Inkjet print, 130X179 cm — Vitrine No. 12+13 *For unknown reasons, the place they occupied is empty*

Inkjet print, 174X136 cm — Vitrine No. 14 *One may ask, how, by what principle, does the world persist?*

Inkjet print, 168X149 cm — Vitrine No. 15 *Contemplating, what did he see? The beginning, preceded by nothing?*

Inkjet print, 131X101 cm — Vitrine No. 16 *Remembered from that journey was only this*

Inkjet print, 138X98 cm — Vitrine No. 17 *The life in her is limited to that side only*

Inkjet print, 125X77 cm — Vitrine No. 18 *Before she reaches the ground (still mid-air) one can see that her neck is broken*

Inkjet print, 117X80 cm — Vitrine No. 19 *Imagine that only one person could see the mereness of things*

Inkjet print, 157X121 cm — Vitrine No. 20 *All sorts of sights went wrong like a great catastrophe in a glass storage*

Between 2014 and 2017, Ilit Azoulay gained exclusive access to the Israel Museum’s archives and storerooms, culminating in a unique archive comprising 753 images and their stories, or fragments thereof. Sourced from the collections of the museum, No Thing Dies is a compilation of twenty photomontages in the form of vitrines through which Azoulay unearths the history and legacy of countless artefacts that were neither publicly displayed nor given proper attention, due to their origin, role, or relevance under dominating cultural and historical narratives.

Azoulay traces the journeys of the artefacts represented in each work, their original purpose, and the challenges of economic and political nature pertaining to their preservation and display, alongside the instrumental role of a museum in the formation of a cultural landscape.

The project confronts existing international modes of accountability, visibility, and presentation of history, raising awareness as to how and by whom they are navigated.

Featured in work no. 2 as "A Battlefield Hill." Newly donated objects to the department of archaeology are currently undergoing examination. The items will be securely stored until their authenticity is verified.

Featured in work no. 9 as "Roses in Dayan's Archaeological Vase".
White rose bush located in the backyard of the Bergman house. It has not been pruned for winter and is experiencing issues with poor balance and health.

Featured in work no. 10. Remains of wood and packing materials in the office-corridors of the museum.

Featured in work no. 4+8. Scanned walls of the hallway between the offices on the museum's lower floor.

Featured in work no.13.
Radio + Tapes, belongs to Ronit Shorak (Curator for Drawings and Prints) from the Map Department.
Currently located at the wrapping and labeling station in the internal storage area.

Featured in work no. 4. as "An Insolation Frame". Exterior west wall of the Bergman house

Featured in work no. 7 as "A View to the Backyard".
Backyard of the Bergman house. Chairs from the house were moved to the garden on the day of her death and have not yet been brought back inside.

Featured in work no. 12+13. Indonesian puppets from the Oceania department, placed in the guest room opposite the late Mrs. Bergman's room.

Featured in work no. 2.
Sculpture in Mrs. Bergman's bathroom, artist unknown.

Featured in work no. 18.
A sculpture by Michael Guino situated in the music and study room at the Bergman house.

Featured in work no. 4 as "The Final Judgment Hand". An unknown sculpture. Positioned on the armrest of the sofa in late Mrs. Bergman's bedroom.

Featured in work no. 18. Head mask from the Baga people, Guinea, West Africa (1948)
Made of wood, cotton, and paint, this large rectangular headdress, known as 'Sibonfel', was traditionally used in weddings. It serves as a miniature stage, featuring carved figures of people and animals. Treated with palm oil and dyed before use, it includes a trickster donkey and human figures representing government officials.

Featured in work no. 2 as “The Healer Snake”.
Medication container.

Featured in work no. 2 as “A Lurking Bird”.
Ceremonial Crown, Yoruba People, Nigeria, West Africa. Early 13th century. Worn as part of royal regalia, this crown once belonged to a high priest who appeared in coronation rites and major festivals. Attributed to the Adanla tradition, it is crafted from cloth, beads, and organic materials - its surface alive with ritual purpose. At its peak, a bird presides: a symbol of wisdom, vision, and spiritual authority.

Featured in work no. 19.
A panel with an unknown artist’s relief. Discovered in storage.

Featured in work no. 2 as “The Red Head”.
Seal of the god Bes: A small, naked figure with spiky hair, sometimes shown with its tongue sticking out.

Featured in work no. 9 as “The Golden Calf”.
Unidentified artwork/artifact.

Featured in work no. 20.
Unknown artifact.

Featured in work no. 15.
Unknown artifact.

Featured in work no. 9.
A page from Adam Reiser’s map book.

Featured in work no. 8+3 as “A Turkish Embroidery Laid Bare” and as "A Rug".
Embroidery, 19th century, Turkey.
Found rolled up and seemingly discarded in the Ethnography Department. Its arrival remains undocumented - no one knows when or how it came into the collection. The textile consists of two identical panels (differing only in the figures depicted), originally forming a doorway curtain shaped like the Hebrew letter ḥet (ח). The embroidery portrays a range of figures serving in the Ottoman court. The black figure is likely a eunuch; above him stands the palace steward, identified by his turban, and below, a servant - suggested by the cap he wears.

Featured in work no. 3 as “A frame Encasing the Artist’s Mind".
(from the taboo cutouts of Yohanan Ben David).

Featured in work no.17.
A salon window at the home of Ms. Irit Shalmon current curator of the Israel Museum’s Ticho House in Jerusalem. The window overlooks Ethiopia Street. On the sill, a quiet arrangement of blue glass vessels and small vases rests in the light.

Featured in work no.6 as “A Front Fence".
One of two lattice panels from the synagogue in Gaza. The archaeological remains of the former synagogue were discovered in 1968 during the Egyptian occupation of Gaza. Formerly located on the coast of Gaza, the site now lies beneath the house of Yasser Arafat. The mosaic found there depicts King David playing the lyre. It is currently displayed in the Byzantine hall, 6th or 7th century CE.

Featured in work no.4 as "Front Wall Mosaic".
A mosaic uncovered in a synagogue. depicts a scene of builders and carpenters constructing a tower adorned with balconies. The identity of the structure, whether the Tower of Babel or the Holly Temple, remains uncertain.

Featured in work no.5 as "Pages of Return".
A booklet, published by the Union for Promoting Local Produce. "Neither a Dream nor a Riddle" with illustrations by Esther Lurie.

Featured in work no.1 as "A Picture on the Wall".
"Adventure in the Desert" (Swedish: Eli bor i Israel - Eli Lives in Israel), is a children's book by Leah Goldberg, with photographs by Anna Riwkin-Brick. It is the ninth book in the "Children of the World" series, first published in Sweden in 1964, and later in Israel in 1966 by Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House.

Featured in work no.2 as "Dead Soldier".
From Edith Samuel’s doll series, most likely represent Palmach fighters.

Featured in work no.2 as "Dragon Slayer".
Soldiers from the seven armies, Russia.

Featured in work no.1 as "Chairs for a Spellbound Circle".
Miniature wooden chairs from a Hungarian furniture collection.

Featured in work no.4 as "Jacob’s Ladder".
A split iron ladder in the underground level beneath the entrance hall.

Featured in work no.1 as "The Watching Dragon".
Unidentified object. Date unknown.

Featured in work no.2 as "The Archer".
A clothing fastener from the Merovingian dynasty. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled parts of ancient Gaul from the mid-5th century to the mid-8th century.

Featured in work no.6 as ״A Possibility of the Sun״.
Lidded box from the Song Dynasty, an imperial Chinese dynasty that ruled from 960 to 1279 CE. Made of porcelain with a pale blue Qingbai glaze, the box is shaped like a flower and was likely used to hold cosmetics.

Featured in work no.15.
Unregistered object. Photographed in Miriam’s office, Asia Department. A chronological map of world history, beginning in Japan and continuing through China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, England, Denmark, Finland, Russia, America, and ending in Mexico.

Featured in work no.11 as ״Side Room״.
The storage of disqualified items, located in the Archaeology Department, is closed to the public. It contains objects that were removed from display for various reasons - some due to physical deterioration, others because of unresolved questions about their authenticity.

Featured in work no.10.
Packages of newly arrived objects at the museum (Archaeology Department). The wrappings are kept until the registration process is complete.

Featured in work no.20.
Temple facade relief with a central female figure. Similar forms are known from the Phoenician world, where temples often feature a goddess or priestess at the center. Origin unknown, from the Dayan Collection. Made of limestone. Possibly used as a cultic object.
Iron Age, 10th–6th centuries BCE.

Featured in work no.4 as ״A Falling Message״.
Aramaic ostracon from the Persian period. An ostracon is a piece of pottery, typically broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In archaeological and epigraphic contexts, ostracon refer to pottery shards or small pieces of stone with inscriptions scratched into their surface.

Featured in work no.9 as ״Hanukkah Lamp״.
Hanukkah lamp, Holland, 1765. Made of cast brass and cut, perforated tin. At its center is a rectangular frame with a cast inscription marking the Hebrew year equivalent to 1765. The use of tin and brass is believed to reflect the economic hardship of the war years between Holland and France, when precious metals became less accessible for metalwork.

Featured in work no.20.
The Omer counting tablet.
The Omer period symbolizes the spiritual preparation of the Jewish people for the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Featured in work no. 2.
Decaying tree in Bergman house backyard.

Featured in work no. 12+13. Storage room door located in an area outside the Bergman's house, adjacent to the garbage yard.

Featured in work no. 19. The view overlooks the office corridor where museum employees pass on their way to the office of Noam Gal, the chief curator of the photography department.

Featured in work no. 1 as "An Exit Option".
Stairs going up from the "Mountain storage" to the floor above.

Featured in work no. 10. Unidentified print currently under investigation. If its details remain undiscovered, it will be transferred to the department of registration.

Featured in work no. 1 as "A Background Area".
Shelves in the map and print conservation department, used for storing items that are being moved in or out. These are arranged with their backs facing the light.

Featured in work no. 6 "As Eyes for the Blind Figure". Portrait of Charlotte Bergman, by Raoul Dufy.

Featured in work no.2 ״Hidden Inner Space״.
Entrance to the Picasso Room at the Bergman House.
Mrs. Charlotte Bergman (1903–2002) was an art collector and major benefactor of the Israel Museum. She was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and lived in London and New York. Together with her husband, the British architect Louis Bergman, she collected works by leading international artists, including Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso. After Louis’s death in 1955, Charlotte continued to expand their art collection independently. Following the Six-Day War, she decided to immigrate to Israel and built her home within the grounds of the Israel Museum. The house, known today as the Bergman House, was designed by the museum’s architects, Al (Alfred) Mansfeld and Dora Gad, the latter also responsible for the interior design. Charlotte lived in the house until her passing in 2002. It houses her remarkable art collection, including works by Braque, Chagall, Dufy, Moore, Picasso, and others. In addition to the artworks, the house features original furniture by world-renowned designers such as Alvar Aalto, George Nelson, and Achille Castiglioni, alongside custom-made pieces designed specifically for the space.

Featured in work no. 12.
A safe located within Mrs. Bergman's closet, discreetly hidden inside a cupboard.

Featured in work no. 17.
Mrs. Bergman's cherished perfume collection, reflecting her love for self-care and beauty. Starting from the left: Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, followed by Amber Romance by Victoria's Secret, Orange Sapphire by Bath and Body Works, Amour Amour by Cacharel, three unidentified perfumes with labels worn off, and, on the far right, After Shave by Elizabeth Arden.

Featured in work no. 3 as "A Background". Window of the glass workshop in the backyard of the Bergman house.

Featured in work no. 9 on the “Dialogue Wall”.
Magic stone. Vanuatu, Melanesia. The people of Vanuatu believe that stones shaped by nature hold magical power - forces capable of altering fate itself. Chosen as personal talismans, they are said to contain mana, the sacred energy that fuses spirit and magic. This unusually large stone, wrapped in coconut fiber and earth, was once used in rituals of banishment and protection.

Featured in work no. 2 as “ The Face of Death on the Battlefield Hill”.
A golden mummy covering.

Featured in work no. 3.
Varda seal, rose - on the base of which there are hieroglyphic signs, which symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. The additions are the result of a modern renovation.

Featured in work no. 2 as “A Bird Presence on the Battleground”.
This carved figure, known as the Shouting Duck, is made from a relatively soft stone and draws its form from an ancient hieroglyph. In the original context, the duck symbolized A male child or offspring and in modern script, it conveys the phonetic sound cha.

Featured in work no. 1.
Unknown artifact.

Featured in work no. 5 as “The Narrative Map".
Page from The Sacred Geography book.

Featured in work no. 7.
A fragment from a Persian miniature manuscript, likely from the taboo cutouts of Yohanan Ben David.

Featured in work no.11 as “A Rug (The Handover)".
Persian Brocade Tapestry from silk. Late 16th to early 17th century.
Depicting court figures with identical faces, each distinguished by a different style of turban.

Featured in work no.1 as “Prison Bars to the Archive-Temple".
(From the taboo cutouts of Yohanan Ben David).

Featured in work no.3 as “The Back Window".
A window in the room of Ms. Irit Shalmon’s former home. Though she no longer lives there, she still visits from time to time. Books, objects, amulets, and small keepsakes remain as quiet traces of her presence.

Featured in work no.10.
One of two lattice panels from the synagogue in Gaza. The archaeological remains of the former synagogue were discovered in 1968 during the Egyptian occupation of Gaza.

Featured in work no.1 as "Priest of the Parliament".
Stone Sarcophagus, decorated with garlands and bucrania (ox skulls). Made from local Ashkelon stone, the sarcophagus was looted and later rediscovered during excavations in the 1960s.

Featured in work no.20.
A page from Les Métamorphoses du jour, a satirical print series by Jean-Jacques Grandville from 1829, portraying hybrid human-animal figures as a critique of society. The series also includes racist depictions characteristic of its time.

Featured in work no.1 as "A Frame and a Text".
"Adventure in the Desert" (Swedish: Eli bor i Israel - Eli Lives in Israel) is a children's book by Leah Goldberg, with photographs by Anna Riwkin-Brick. It is the ninth book in the "Children of the World" series, first published in Sweden in 1964, and later in Israel in 1966 by Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House.

Featured in work no.18.
Living room of Gunston Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia- home of George Mason.
From: Three miniature rooms donated to the department.

Featured in work no.2 as "The Prayer".
Shadow puppets, made of stiff parchment with a wax coating. Used in puppet theater in Turkey.

Featured in work no.6 as "A Gazing Figure".
Doll from South Africa, Ndebele people. Donated to the collection.

Featured in work no.20.
Original wooden benches from the "Zedek ve-Shalom" synagogue, established in Suriname in the 17th century by Jewish refugees who had fled Spain and Portugal. In the late 1990s, the synagogue’s contents were transferred to the Israel Museum on long-term loan. The synagogue was reconstructed in the museum’s Wing for Jewish Art and Life. The benches, however, were not selected for display. Although registered in the museum as art objects, they are currently stored in a transitional storage area and remain in a state of neglect.

Featured in work no.17.
A broken brick wall in one of the museum’s storage room.

Featured in work no.14 as "Curtain Rod".
An unidentified object, quietly residing in the archive - no one knows what it is or how it got there.

Featured in work no.9 as "Flat Wall Plate".
The Tang Dynasty (618–907) is renowned for its vibrantly colored and expressively modeled tomb figurines. This dish, made from low-fired earthenware, was created exclusively for burial purposes. It was not intended for food use due to its fragile material, a small flaw at the center, and possibly even a toxic glaze.

Featured in work no.2 as "A Battlefield Hill".
Car. Burial object made of paper.
In Chinese tradition, it is believed that the deceased continue to need the same material possessions they used in life. To provide for them in the afterlife, families burn paper replicas - known as zhizha - as ritual offerings. These symbolic items can range from food and clothing to luxury goods like iPhones, designer bags, jewelry, and cars. The practice of burning zhizha has deep roots in Chinese cultural and religious history, dating back nearly 2,500 years. Today, it continues to blend ancient beliefs with modern desires, bridging the worlds of the living and the dead.

Featured in work no.3 as "Back Storage Room".
Folded and wrapped screens stored in the Asia Department.

Featured in work no.19.
Clay Jar, Iron Age II (1000–500 BCE). Originating from Deir el-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip. Acquired from an antiquities dealer.

Featured in work no.15.
A work table in the midst of research and archival preparation.

Featured in work no.1 as "Tool of Witchcraft".
Formed as a central tube from which multiple spouts extend, shaped in anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and possibly vegetal forms. From the Dayan Collection.

Featured in work no.4 as ״A Falling Message".
Aramaic ostracon from the Persian period. An ostracon is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ostracon refer to sherds or even small pieces of stone that have writing scratched into them.

Featured in work no.4 as ״Falling Message״.
Aramaic ostracon from the Persian period. An ostracon is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ostracon refer to sherds or even small pieces of stone that have writing scratched into them.

Featured in work no.5 as ״An Empty Vitrine, Waiting".
A podium and various display vitrines rest in wall niches along the corridor.

Featured in work no.6 as ״A vitrine for The Rider of Hope״.
Display materials: an aquarium, a podium, a table, and wooden boards placed between the offices.

Featured in work no.7. A freight trolley used for transferring works.

Featured in work no.10.
The hands of Suzanne Strohl, a senior member of the museum staff, hold the letter of farewell she wrote to her friend Charlotte Bergman after her death.

Featured in work no.5 as ״A Back Curtain".
A glimpse into the study room of the Prints and Drawings Department.

Featured in work no.2 as ״Staircase Into the Void״.
Stairs leading to the basement apartment, Charlotte Bergman’s former domestic staff floor.

Featured in work no.18.
A cabinet of sculptures standing in the eastern hallway of Charlotte Bergman’s home.

Featured in work no.5 as ״Bottom Drawer״.
Candles were once used by Mrs. Bergman for hosting, perhaps even for ritual purposes. They may be discarded once a decision is made regarding the future of the house.

Featured in work no.19.
The private bathroom in Charlotte Bergman’s bedroom - a gecko is seen on the ceiling in the photograph.

Uncleared cabinet near Charlotte Bergman’s bathroom, holding folded wallpaper once used to line drawers and wrap gifts.

Featured in work no. 9 as “An Object on the Dialogue Wall”.
Magic stone, Vanuatu, Melanesia.

Featured in work no. 2 as “A Stone Witnessing the Battlefield Hill”.
Magic Stone, Vanuatu, Melanesia. Early 20th century. Gifted to the museum. Traditionally used in pig hunting, this stone bears a carved human face. Most magic stones in the region are made of volcanic rock naturally formed from ash. They are believed to offer protection, promote health, and safeguard the well-being of the village.

Featured in work no. 3 as “The Full Moon”.
Scarab infused with mineral traces.

Featured in work no. 2 as “A Green Gravestone”.
Plaque, Egypt. Typically double-sided, this one is not.
On the left, the hieroglyph represents the heart, a symbol of great significance in the journey from this world to the next. In the judgment scene, the heart is weighed against a feather. If the scale tips toward the heart and fails to balance, the individual is judged unworthy, destined to be devoured by a monstrous creature and denied entry to the afterlife.
Above the four hieroglyphs sits a baboon, the form taken by Thoth, the god of wisdom.

Featured in work no. 20.
Storage Room, overflowing with what no longer fits. Photography frames resting in the background, a wounded work by Yaacov Agam in the foreground.

Featured in work no. 6 as “The Eyes of the Painting”.
Wrapped artwork.

Featured in work no. 6 as “A Flag”.
From Daoud’s cutout collection - an unregistered object bearing the sign of an empty sun".

Featured in work no. 9 as “An Object on the Dialogue Wall”.
Bowl base fragment in the Minai style. 13th century, Persia. Museum acquisition. Features painting applied over glaze.

Featured in work no. 10.
From Daoud’s cutout collection - an unregistered object.

Featured in work no. 5 as ״Staircase”.
A stairwell to the rooftop offers a glimpse of the Ethiopian church, where photography is not permitted.

Featured in work no. 19.
Roman bust: the body is dressed in military armor and a cloak, with a socket at the neck for attaching a separate head. In Roman practice, statue heads were often replaced - for instance, when a new emperor or official came into power - as a way to reuse existing sculptures.

Featured in work no. 1 as ״A Crack on the Wall”.
Fragments of an inscription on plaster from the synagogue of the Beit She'an Valley.

Featured in work no.6 as ״A Hidden Cartoon”.
A page from Les Métamorphoses du jour, a satirical print series by Jean-Jacques Grandville from 1829, portraying hybrid human-animal figures as a critique of society. The series also includes racist depictions characteristic of its time.

Featured in work no.9.
Part of a rare German book collection.

Featured in work no. 2 as ״Farewell Declaration״ and “A Horseman on the Battlefield Hill”.
Miniature Chinese procession toys. The group includes 42 painted clay figures bearing musical instruments, ceremonial costumes, and lanterns. The original set likely featured a carriage, which remains missing.

Featured in work no. 1 as ״Falling Negative״.
"The Magic Lantern" - Between the 1940s and 1960s, a man named Mordechai On made it his mission to bring illustrated stories to kindergartens across Israel. He approached several illustrators - including Mai Zada and Bina Gewirtz - and commissioned them to create visual narratives. Each story consisted of 50-60 illustrations, which were photographed onto film and then hand-painted directly on the negatives. The stories were projected and narrated aloud. Mordechai later donated the entire collection to the museum.

Featured in work no. 16 as ״Reception Door״.
Entrance door to the bedroom of the late Aviva Muller-Lancet, founder and curator of the Jewish Ethnography Department at the Israel Museum.

Featured in work no. 17.
Access to the storage room is tightly controlled - a guard must always be present, as no one else holds the keys. Behind him, exhibition work platforms are stacked.

Featured in work no.9 as ״A Shelf for Jacques Lipchitz's Notebook״.
A burial model of a wardrobe. Its sealed doors reflect the shift from functional objects to symbolic representations.

Featured in work no.6.
A view of storage shelves for fabric scroll paintings.
In the foreground, a phallic sculpture.

Featured in work no.10.
Packaging of newly arrived objects at the museum (Archaeology Department). The wrappings are preserved until the registration process is complete.

Featured in work no.15.
Working table in the archaeology storage room (preparation for exhibition).

Featured in work no.11 as ״Blue Ink Vessel״.
A small bowl with a pinched spout designed to hold a small oil flame, attributed to the Persian period and originating from the Moshe Dayan Collection. The object’s provenance remains unknown. Dayan, an Israeli general and politician, was also a controversial amateur archaeologist who conducted unauthorized excavations and traded antiquities. After his death in 1981, his collection was sold by his widow to the Israel Museum.

Featured in work no.19.
A cult stand from the Moshe Dayan Collection, excavated at Tel Tzafit, identified with the Philistine city of Gath. Likely used for offerings or burning incense, the piece entered the Israel Museum in 1968, when Dayan reportedly sold it to fund his daughter’s wedding. The drooping leaves along its central column are a distinctive motif of the Iron Age (9th century BCE).

Featured in work no.3 as ״An Open Call for a New Leader״.
An original plaque from the “Zedek ve-Shalom” synagogue, founded in Suriname in the 17th century by Jewish refugees who fled Spain and Portugal. In the late 1990s, the synagogue’s interior was transferred to the Israel Museum on long-term loan, where it was meticulously reconstructed in the museum’s Wing for Jewish Art and Life.

Featured in work no.3 as ״A Front Pillar״.
A metal plaque bearing a German inscription marking the renovation of the synagogue,
November 26, 1989 / 28 Heshvan 5750.

Featured in work no.3 as ״An Emergency Exit״.
A hidden smoking corner in the museum corridors, leading to the paper preservation department.

Featured in work no.10.
An abandoned wooden podium in the museum corridors, occasionally shifting its position.

Featured in work no.1 as ״A Socket in the Wall״.
Three switches controlling lights in separate sections of the museum corridors.

Featured in work no.6 as ״An Exit Door״.
Room 43 stays locked and sealed, a space no one enters.

Featured in work no.9 as "A Humidity Controller״.
Humidity and air control device.

Featured in work no.20.
A dying tree in the garden of the Bergman residence, built behind the museum’s parking lot.

Featured in work no.12.
Remnants from Mrs. Bergman’s home: a collection of vinyl records, a paint box with dried oil paints and brushes, carpets, tablecloths, and assorted fabrics. After her passing, these belongings were moved to her caretaker’s quarters. Unlisted in the museum’s inventory, they remain there without a future.

Featured in work no.15.
The staircase in the Bergman House leading to Mrs. Bergman’s caretakers’ quarters.

Featured in work no.20.
An electric cord that appears to have been moved, though it is no longer clear which lamp it was originally connected to.

Featured in work no.2.
A gecko resting on the fluorescent light in Mrs. Bergman’s formal bathroom.

The music room, which she (Charlotte Berman) also called the “room of enlightenment.” on the lower shelves are small sculptures by Michael Guniu.

Featured in work no.16.
The view of the window leading to the inner courtyard, seen from the living room of Charlotte Bergman house.

Featured in work no.3 as ״Fear of the New Leadership״.
A mask from the Dan people of Liberia, West Africa, dating to the early 20th century. Carved from wood and adorned with felt, aluminum, animal hair, and human teeth, it is among the rarest pieces in the museum’s collection. Such masks were once worn by community lawgivers, who listened to disputes and delivered judgment - their authority embodied in the silent face of the mask.

Featured in work no. 9 as ״A Pendulum”.
A magic stone from Malekula, Ambrym Island, Melanesia, early 20th century. From the Oceania Collection, gift.
The people of Vanuatu believe that stones shaped by nature hold magical power - forces capable of altering fate itself. Chosen as personal talismans, they are said to contain mana, the sacred energy that fuses spirit and magic. This unusually large stone, wrapped in coconut fiber and earth, was once used in rituals of banishment and protection.

Featured in work no. 19.
A storage cabinet holding objects from the Dayan Collection, the Bezalel Collection, and other unnamed collections.

Featured in work no. 9 as ״Heart Scarab”.
Ancient Egyptian heart amulets were vital magical objects, often carved from carnelian and placed upon the mummy to safeguard the heart in the afterlife. They were believed to ensure that, during the judgment of the dead, the heart would testify kindly on behalf of its owner.

Featured in work no. 4.
An unidentified artwork, its documentation has been lost. The museum is currently trying to trace its origin and identify the artist.

Featured in work no. 1 as ״Guardian of the Threshold״.
"Just Born", a plaster cast from 1937 by Jacob Epstein. In 1907, Epstein was commissioned to sculpt monumental figures for the façade of the new headquarters of the British Medical Association. Six of the sculptures represented symbolic aspects of medicine and its related sciences, while the remaining figures- nude men and women- embodied different stages of human life. Upon their installation, the sculptures provoked public outrage for their supposed “immorality”. Despite the controversy, they were erected, yet Epstein was never again invited to undertake such a public commission. In 1935, the building was purchased by the government of Southern Rhodesia. Concerns about the “indecency” of the sculptures resurfaced, and two years later, after an alleged incident in which a falling fragment injured a passerby, the Rhodesian authorities used the occasion to remove the works.

Featured in work no. 6 as "A Headless Hero".
A sculpture standing in the inner courtyard of the Paper Conservation Laboratory.

Featured in work no.20.
Animal fables in Persian miniatures blend traditional art with allegorical animal imagery from folklore, literature, and philosophy. Animals like the lion, fox, gazelle, and eagle often symbolize moral or spiritual traits- power, cunning, justice, continuing ancient traditions of ethical storytelling, especially in Safavid and Timurid miniature painting.

Featured in work no. 5 as "A Butterfly on the Dialogue Wall".
An unregistered object. The taboo cutouts of Yohanan Ben David.

Featured in work no. 5 as "Narrative Map Book".
A page from Futuh al-Haramayn (a handbook for pilgrims to Mecca and Medina), considered the earliest Islamic guidebook for pilgrimage. Certain Persian miniatures function similarly, as visual travel guides to historical sites, depicting journeys, cities, mountains, rivers, and scenes of adventure, much like an illustrated guidebook. Many miniatures portray well-known landmarks, Silk Road journeys, pilgrim routes, and scenes that illuminate the landscapes and cultures of their time.

Featured in work no.18.
A collection of photographic slides kept in the bedroom of Mrs. Irit Shalmon, currently (2016) the curator of the Israel Museum’s Ticho House in Jerusalem.

Featured in work no. 3 as ״Column Capital".
Half-capital from a column, originally from Kypros - Herod’s hilltop palace above Jericho, named after his mother. Carved from local stone, then coated in stucco and painted to imitate marble and gold. lavish architecture made with cheap materials. The relatively modest palace also included a small bathhouse.

Featured in work no. 7.
A synagogue mosaic. The excavator was Uzi Leibner from the Hebrew University, working beneath Mount Arbel, not far from Kibbutz Hukok- a region dense with ancient synagogues across the Galilee.
In this mosaic scene, one can see the crossing of the Red Sea: Pharaoh’s chariot and horsemen drowning in the waters, alongside a large fish.

Featured in work no.20.
A page from My Sister, a poem by Mary Belson, illustrated with engravings, 1816.

Featured in work no. 6.
"Adventure in the Desert" (Swedish: Eli bor i Israel - Eli Lives in Israel) is a children's book by Leah Goldberg, with photographs by Anna Riwkin-Brick. It is the ninth book in the "Children of the World" series, first published in Sweden in 1964, and later in Israel in 1966 by Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House.

Featured in work no.9 "On the Dialogue Wall".
A Thai shadow puppet from the 19th century, made of leather and wood, depicting an old man holding a snake.

Featured in work no.2 as "Warrior No. 2".
Soldiers from the seven armies, Russia.

Featured in work no.20.
An overturned work frame, left exposed behind the vitrines removed from the book display.

Featured in work no. 19.
A fragment, likely from an insect sculpture of unknown origin. Made of glass with a painted finish.

Featured in work no. 19.
An ex-voto from the folk art tradition, probably European, dating back to the Middle Ages. People brought such small figures to churches to ask for healing, using them as symbols of their prayers. This Christian custom still exists today in some parts of Mexico.

Featured in work no.1 as "Spellwork Table".
A model of a scholar’s table, faithfully crafted in the likeness of his original writing desk. Ming dynasty, 14th–17th century.

Featured in work no.2 as "A Takeaway for the Afterlife".
A fish-shaped burial offering made of paper.
In Chinese tradition, paper replicas, zhizha, are burned as gifts to the deceased, providing them with the comforts of life in the afterworld. These symbolic items, which can include anything from food and clothing to smartphones and designer goods, reflect a 2,500-year-old ritual that merges ancient spiritual beliefs with contemporary material culture.

Featured in work no.2 as "The Ivory Pomegranate, Examination".
Microscope in the Archaeological Storage Room.

Featured in work no.15.
Archival workspace with tools and documentation materials in the archaeology storage room.

Featured in work no. 9 as "A Vase for Roses".
An object from the Dayan Collection, dated to the Iron Age and unearthed at Tel Tzafit.
It was reassembled from multiple fragments, reportedly glued together by Moshe Dayan himself, whose extensive private collection, once admired, later sparked controversy due to his unauthorized excavations and the murky legal status of many artifacts.

Ilit Azoulay: No Thing Dies,
ed. by Maurin Dietrich,
Mousse Publishing,
Milan, 2019.
English, 264 pages, softcover,
23.5 x 33 cm,
ISBN: 978-88-6749-383-8.

No Thing Dies
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2017