Two Rare Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts on View at The Met during Passover Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
The Prato Haggadah (detail). Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment. Spanish, ca. 1300. Courtesy of The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Andrew Winslow
Maine Woolens is a weaver of blanket and throws located in Brunswick, Maine. We work primarily with natural fibers, like cottons and worsted wools and are committed to using renewable natural fibers from American growers whenever possible. We do piece dyeing and package dyeing in house and the combined experience of our excellent employees exceeds 300 years. Our wool and cotton blankets and throws are 100 percent machine washable, soft and luxurious to the touch, cozy warm and comfortably light. We have many styles to choose from. Our clients are very positive about our products and happy to support a Made in Maine, USA company. Jo Miller is a Mover and Shaker:
Visit our website at www.mainewoolens.com
We have been highly recommended by Whom You Know:
Maine Woolens, affordable luxury and tradition.
***
Exhibition Locations: The Met Fifth Avenue
Floor 1, Medieval Treasury, Gallery 306
and
The Met Cloisters, Ground Floor, Gallery 13
In conjunction with the observance of Passover this year, two medieval Hebrew manuscripts are on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—one at The Met Cloisters and the other at The Met Fifth Avenue. Both works were recently conserved, and are on loan from the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York. One manuscript—the Prato Haggadah—is a new loan and is displayed at The Met Cloisters; the other, a continuing loan at The Met Fifth Avenue, is a Haggadah by Joel ben Simeon, one of the best–known illuminators of medieval Hebrew manuscripts. Intended for use at the Passover table, Haggadot (plural of Haggadah) trace the biblical story of the Exodus and commemorate the Jews' miraculous escape from slavery in Egypt.
Prato Haggadah
The Prato Haggadah is one of the finest examples of an illuminated Haggadah from 14th–century Spain. The pages on view at The Met Cloisters show two male servants holding a piece of unleavened bread. Its importance in the meal is signaled by its extraordinary size and its golden decoration. The text on the facing page explains that the shank bone on the Seder plate recalls the Passover sacrifice in the time of the Temple, marking God's sparing ("passing over") of the houses of the Jews during the plague of the first–born of Egypt. For reasons unknown, the manuscript was not completed; as a result, the refinement of the drawing is especially noticeable.
Joel ben Simeon Haggadah
Joel ben Simeon was an itinerant scribe and artist, active in Italy and Germany, who specialized in the creation of Hebrew manuscripts for personal use, with Haggadot something of a specialty. The example on view, created in Italy in 1454, was written according to the Italian rite. The book isopen to a hymn declaring and extolling the sovereignty of God, which is sung during Nirtzah, the last part of the Pesach Seder. The hymn is decorated on the right folio with a motif of four interconnected hares that share ears, forming a square. A similar motif decorates the left folio, with the square formed by the figures of dancing men.
The pages currently on view will be changed after Sunday, May 15.
