Dan Wyman Books, LLC
www.DanWymanBooks.com d...@danwymanbooks.com ph.718-963-0410
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The Prato Haggadah from 1300s Spain:
An Exquisite Facsimile
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to offer for sale the stunning authorized facsimile of the Prato
Haggadah, now held in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
(JTSA), here in New York.
Unbelievably rich and extraordinarily refined in its artistic decoration, the
Prato Hagadah is a Sephardic Haggadah produced in Spain, ca. 1300, with
incomplete period illuminations and additions from the following three
centuries. Folios 1-53 are in square Sephardic script, with folios 54-68 in
square Italo-Ashkenazic script. It includes 40 miniatures illuminated in gold
and silver and 60 partially illuminated or only drawn and was featured in the
Met's 2009 Exhibit, "Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages."
Scholars at the JTSA note that, “Nothing at all is known of either the patron
or scribe of the Prato Haggadah, and little is known of its whereabouts from
the time it was produced in Spain, around 1300, until the time it was acquired
by the JTS Library in 1964. While the haggadah's text is written in accordance
with the Spanish rite, at some point additional text, which included liturgical
poems of the Ashkenazic rite, was added, most likely in Italy."
"A 1617 signature of an Italian church censor, Giovanni Domenico Carretto is
proof that the manuscript actually was in Italy at the beginning of the
seventeenth century. Nothing further is known of the haggadah's history until
1928, when it was in the possession of Dr. Ludwig Pollak, a native of Prague
living in Rome."
The art of the Prato Haggadah is witty and creative. It includes many initial
word panels, foliate ornamentation, and hybrid figures. Several illustrations
relate directly to the text. The Haggadah contains motifs common in medieval
manuscripts, and many folios reflect the artist's sense of humor.
For unknown reasons, the manuscript's illumination was never completed. It is
this unfinished nature of the work that allows the viewer to see the stages of
production of an illuminated manuscript: the scribal arrangement of the text;
the artist's preparatory drawings; the application of gesso to cushion gold or
silver leaf; the addition of the leaf; the painting of a wide variety of
pigments; and the outlining of the illuminations with ink.
The text of the Prato Haggadah is also distinctive. Although it includes the
standard biblical, talmudic, and midrashic texts, as well as the liturgical
poetry common to other Spanish Haggadot, the Prato Haggadah lacks all elements
associated with the Passover meal. Kiddush, blessings for matzah and maror,
instructions for the feast itself, and grace after meals are absent. Scholars
have suggested that Haggadot of this kind may have been written to be read
publicly in the synagogue, after which people would return to their homes for
the meal. This phenomenon is found in other Spanish Haggadot and is explained
by medieval sources as satisfying the requirement to recount the story of the
Exodus for people unable to lead or attend a seder.
Many Sephardic Jews immigrated to Italy following the expulsions from the
Iberian Peninsula at the end of the fifteenth century, often taking their
manuscripts with them. The Prato Haggadah contains many textual changes and
corrections inserted over several centuries. Though the Spanish or Ashkenazic
sections of the manuscript cannot be definitively dated or localized, scribal
practices and liturgical variants provide a general overview of the history of
the manuscript and its owners (JTS, 2010) .
This magnificent numbered facsimile comes printed on parchment and bound in
full period-style leather, in a custom slipcase.
Included is a companion volume, "The Prato Haggadah," (107 pages, with color
illustrations) edited by Naomi M. Steinberger and with an introduction by David
Kraemer, with essays and bibliographical references.
Price is $4700.00
To Order, please hit reply or write to us at d...@danwymanbooks.com
We accept payment by check, paypal, or credit card, and we will gladly invoice
your institution.
Please browse other Hagadot, as well as other rare Jewish books at
www.danwymanbooks.com/searchpage.php
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