Obj. ID: 55398
  Printed Books  Ki Chamat Adam........, Venice, circa 1750

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

Decorations for the Succah were and are a regular feature of the Succot holiday. The greatest number of surviving older examples is from Italy, both hand painted and printed.  This unusual engraved example is perhaps the earliest printed example extant, from the middle of the 18th century. There are depictions of various events relating to the festival of Succot, as well as the figures of Moses and Aaron. Some of these illustrations are copied from another book printed in 17th-century Amsterdam. This sheet is engraved in a baroque style by Francisco Griselini, whose name is signed in Hebrew on the plate, and is hand colored. Griselini engraved images for a number of Jewish books and single sheets in the 1740s, including an Esther scroll and pages with biblical images. Another example of this artist's work can be seen in several engravings in an elaborate printing of the bible from 1739. For the Succah such plaques were usually made in sets, and there exists another example with the same border engraving but with a different text inside

This may be the first appearance of the use of the two trees, as in the center cartouche.  It is copied later in the red printed ushpezin plaque in the gross collection.  The image of Beit Hashoevah is also copied later in the Mantua manuscript for those prayers.  This may be the source.  The two small illustrations of the "succah" at the two upper corners appear to have been copied from the many non-Jewish books on Jewish subjects in which succot is represented and illustrated.

Designer:                         Designed by Avraham Calimani