About Us
Seraphim Arts.
Our Story
My name is Riad Mitri, and the olive wood souvenir and olive wood factory business was established by my father in 1973. it is typical for Christian families in Bethlehem to inherit their parents business and help make it grow as years pass by. We work very hard to bring you the best quality crafts made by wood cut from the finest olive trees and we pay attention to last bit of detail in our finished product. we also appreciate your feedback on any product you buy from us.
The olive wood
The olive wood industry started in Bethlehem in the 4th century by the Christian community to commemorate certain historic and biblical events. By carving Figurines and a variety of religions objects from Olive wood, Artists portray many stories from the bible and bring them to life. The Olive tree is an ancient biblical tree and has been a part of the history of the holy land as it symbolizes peace. In Jerusalem near the Gethsemane olive garden where Jesus spent a major part of his life Praying and teaching and healing the sick. When Noah sent a pigeon after the flood it came back with the olive tree branch that was his sign of life and peace on earth
The Olive wood industry
The Olive wood is naturally a hard and solid wood in order to start working on any olive wood artifact, the tree needs to lay in the sun for about two years. to start the process, after the cut tree is completely dried, it is chopped to pieces according to the size needed for every artwork. The carving is made on a grade scale A B and C
Grade A is the top finished product using the best grain wood and has the most and finest detailed work
Grade B has good quality wood and detailed but not as fine and Grade A
Grade C is not finished as smooth and does not show great facial details as The Grade A or B.