Beautiful pair of two presentation tablets created by Paramount to precisely replicate those used in Cecil B. DeMille's epic 1956 religious film The Ten Commandments, cast in a composite resin material which has been hand-painted with a reddish speckle finish to resemble granite quarried from Mount Sinai. Each tablet measures 12″ x 23″ x 1.25″, and they are deeply engraved with early Canaanite script transcribing the Ten Commandments as written by 'the finger of God.' They are displayed side-by-side in a wooden 32.25″ x 26.5″ x 4″ shadowbox case with a recessed green felt backing, featuring two engraved plaques in the center.
The first plaque describes the tablets: "These tablets are replicas of those used in the Cecil B. DeMille production 'The Ten Commandments.' The granite tablets used in the production were hewn from the rare red granite brought from Mt. Sinai near the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea; from the hallowed ground where Moses stood when God revealed himself in the burning bush and where the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God. Mr. DeMille consulted with scholars of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and Dr. Ralph Marcus wrote for him a version of the Ten Commandments in early Canaanite lettering. This manner of writing was practiced in the late Bronze Age, (circa 13th Century, B.C.), which is the era of Moses."
The second plaque translates the early Canaanite script: "The Ten Commandments. / I am Yhwh thy God. There shall not be to thee other Gods. / Thou shalt not make for thyself a graven image. / Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain. / Remember the Sabbath Day to sanctify it. / Honor thy father and thy mother. / Thou shalt not murder. / Thou shalt not commit adultery. / Thou shalt not steal. / Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy fellow. / Thou shalt not covet the household of thy fellow." In fine condition.
Accompanied by a provenance statement from Old Tucson Studios founder Robert Shelton, dated July 2010, describing when Shelton came into possession of these tablets: "Old Tucson Studio provided location services and facilities to the major studios for over 35 years. It purchased sections of Paramount Studios' western street when they dismantled it. Over the years, Old Tucson accumulated large amounts of movie equipment, pro[p]s, wardrobe and artifacts. In the early 1970's I was at Paramount, purchasing and loading a semi-trailer of equipment, when the studio through Jerry Cook, a studio executive, offered me the opportunity to personally acquire a rare set of their Ten Commandments." Also includes an original color one sheet movie poster for the 1972 US re-release of the film, 27 x 40, stapled along the edges to a foamcore board. The poster's artwork portrays Charlton Heston as Moses, triumphantly holding the Ten Commandments tablets above his head as the Red Sea parts in the background. A beautiful presentation associated with one of the most identifiable, iconic props in cinema history—the tablets from The Ten Commandments. Robert Shelton's Old Tucson Studios Collection
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