The Museum's bas reliefs were carved by Eric Gill. Gill was born in England in 1882. In his youth he attended a school of art and technology, and later entered an apprenticeship in an architect's office. In the evenings he took lessons in stonemasonry and calligraphy. He earned his living mainly as a lettercutter and stonemason, but also illustrated manuscripts.

The ten bas-reliefs Gill carved in the courtyard of the Museum in 1934 depict the major cultures that left their imprint on this region. The relief above the Museum's main entrance represents this land as the meeting place of Asia and Africa. Gill also sculpted the fountain in the Central Court and cut the English, Arabic, and Hebrew letters of the inscriptions throughout the building. In his design of the Hebrew letters, he based himself on ancient Hebrew inscriptions.

Gill's sculptural style is direct but at the same time highly symbolic, evoking medieval sculpture. His simple, sensual figures with their elongated proportions seem to have been inspired by the stone itself. He did not draw preliminary sketches, but rather went directly to work on the stone.

Gill was a deeply religious man. He believed that "all the best art is religious," and indeed, everything he produced was intended to please God.

Eric Gill, Self-Portrait, 1927