Life of Jesus - Miracles, stories and passion

Hand painted on ceramic tiles in Jerusalem's Old City

Christian Gifts > Scenes from the life of Jesus

A unique form of Christian artwork in Jerusalem involves hand painting colorful representations of the life of Jesus on ceramic tiles. The stories and miracles from various stages of the life of Jesus are painted on tiles, similar to icons. These life of Jesus tiles are reproductions of original artwork from the eighteenth century, from St. James Armenian Cathedral in Jerusalem, and from Greek, Coptic, Assyrian icons and old Christian manuscripts. Price per tile = $22.

Life of Jesus tiles of St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem

St. James cathedral in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem, is located on the spot where St, James the Great, the brother of St. John was buried. The original church was destroyed by the Persians in 614. The present day cathedral was built by the Armenians during the crusader occupation of Jerusalem in the 12th century.

Armenians as a nation converted to Christianity in 301 AD, and throughout the centuries, Armenian pilgrims have come to Jerusalem bringing with them donations to the church of St. James - Christian artwork in the form of carved wood, Khatchkars (stone crosses), and ceramic tiles.

Inside the church are a number of chapels, some of which are decorated with these unique pictorial ceramic life of Jesus tiles (known as Kutahya tiles), depicting scenes from the old and new testaments. These artworks, some of which have Armenian inscriptions, date from 1719 and include designs such as Healing the blind, Prophet Isaiah, Adam and Eve, the Last Supper and the sacrifice of Isaac. Some of the artwork presented here are reproductions of the originals found in the church. The originals can be seen in the church during visiting hours.

Kutahya tiles

Kutahya, in Turkey, became a tile producing center in the 17th century. There was a sizeable Armenian population in Kutahya, and many Armenians became involved in ceramic artwork making. The art still survives to this day, with 2 Armenian families continuing the tradition.

Each of the above life of Jesus gifts represents a different story, hand painted with bright colors and glazed to a glossy finish. Each tile has a hanger on the back so it can be used as Christian wall decor and wall art.

Other available New Testament hand painted tiles:

• Jesus healing the blind
• Raising Lazarus from the dead
• Mother and child
• Presentation at the temple
• St. Peter holding the keys to The Kingdom
• Palm Sunday (Armenian version)
• St. George slaying the dragon

In this same style of tile design, we also make tiles depicting scenes from the Old Testament. These include Adam and Eve, The Sacrifice of Isaac, King David playing the harp.

The tile dimensions are approximately 6x6 inches (15x15 cm). They are available framed with wood or unframed. A single framed tile costs US $38and comes with a hanger (see back of framed tile). A single unframed tile costs US $22 and comes with cork backing and a hanger (see back of tile).

The hand painted tiles displayed here are a selection of what we make. If you would like more information about our decorative tiles, how to use them or just a price quote including shipping, please call us at +972.2.6261587 (leave a message if we're not there), or email us at:

tile@jerusalempottery.biz

We ship our hand painted tiles world wide. See table for sample shipping costs to various countries.

Go to storefront  to shop online, or click one of the images above