Israelite Tel Suite (4): Gezer, 1983

Hand-pulled collagraph on 100% rag paper, edition 85/100, 30 × 22 in. (76.2 × 55.9 cm)

Gift from a private collection

The Israelite Tel Suite is a collection of four intaglio collagraphs depicting four important archaeological sites related to biblical Israel. A tel is a mound covering the site of an ancient settlement, generally consisting of many layers of rubble and artifacts left by successive civilizations. Each of these prints is itself a
kind of tel, featuring three horizontal strata that divide the image into a kind of cross-section of archeological time. Bowden visually incorporates imagery of each tel’s current landscape with artifacts from that site embedded in the earth, including, near the center of each composition, an especially important object relating to the tel’s history.

Gezer was an important Canaanite city strategically located between Egypt and Assyria during biblical times (mentioned repeatedly in Joshua and 1 Chronicles; cf. Judg 1:29; 2 Sam 5:25). The city was included in the dowry King Solomon received from one of his wives (1 Kgs 9:16-19). Excavations at Gezer uncovered a
boundary inscription which identified the city’s name, and burial sites were found which included pottery, plates, and jars, even though this custom was forbidden by Torah. Centered in this print is an image of the Gezer Calendar (c. 950 BCE), a limestone tablet listing the proper times for gathering, planting, harvesting, and pruning.