The Ten Commandments (Paramount, 1956), Cecil B. DeMille's Personally Owned Ten Commandments Tablets Carved from Red G... (Total: 3 Items)

Description

The Ten Commandments Tablets majestically hewn from Mt. Sinai red granite as instructed by Cecil B. DeMille to publicize the 1956 epic film and educate the public.

"I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them"

The Ten Commandments (Paramount, 1956), Cecil B. DeMille's Personally Owned Ten Commandments Tablets Carved from Red Granite Quarried from the Slopes of Mount Sinai. The two tablets, each measuring approximately 23" x 11.75" x 1.25", are inscribed in early Canaanite script. Owing to DeMille's fanatical attention to detail, these tablets 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." 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. Each tablet weighs approximately 32 pounds (14.5 kg) are of the same size and appearance as the multiple copies made of the lightweight prop plastic tablets handled by Charlton Heston as "Moses" in the epic film.

The tablets read (translated): "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."

Accompanying the Ten Commandments tablets is the 40" x 25" x 47.25" custom-built wooden shrine/display cabinet DeMille commissioned to exhibit them for promotional and educational purposes. Flanking the tablets is a printed description and translation of the tablets, including the statement, "Displayed on loan from the Cecil B. deMille Trust. Mr. Cecil B. deMille journeyed to Mount Sinai in October, 1954, to photograph scenes for the motion picture, 'The Ten Commandments."'

At the time of its U.S. release on November 8, 1956, The Ten Commandments was the most expensive film ever made, and it became Cecil B. DeMille's most commercially successful work and his final directorial effort before his death. The film earned wide acclaim for its lush, detailed set designs, lavish art direction, and robust special effects-in addition to winning the Academy Award for "Best Effects, Special Effects", it was nominated for "Best Picture", "Best Cinematography, Color", "Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color", "Best Costume Design, Color", "Best Sound, Recording", and "Best Film Editing".

This unique pair of DeMille's personal Mt. Sinai red granite Ten Commandments tablets represents the ultimate display piece of one of the most iconic artifacts in film history. These tablets appear in the comprehensive book Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic. Tablets exhibit scuffing and chipping on top of the granite surface; display cabinet exhibits age, staining with scattered chipping and missing acrylic cover on printed description on the right. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

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