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Obj. ID: 23745
Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts
  Second New York Joel ben Simeon Haggadah, Italy, 1454

© ''Ursula and Kurt Schubert Archive'' in the Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Unknown,
Summary and Remarks

The Second New York Joel Ben Simeon Haggadah, which has the typical Italian codicology, with ten folio quires using burnished parchment, was executed by Joel after he went toItalyand reveals an experienced scribe-artist. His sure hand allows him to play and decorate his letters in an elaborate manner. By 1454, when this Haggadah was copied and illuminated, Joel must have been in Lombardy, in the north of Italy for at least two years since he copied the mahzor in Cremona in 1452 (Turin, Royal Library, now destroyed by fire).

Our Haggadah is mainly decorated, having just a single text illustration (fol. 26) depicting the hand of God. The decoration, which includes many human figures and faces, is profuse and suits the style and repertoire of motifs that Joel developed during his early stay inItaly. Outstanding are the array of faces in a panel (fol. 15v), and the two examples of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic letters (fols. 34v, 54v). To some extent, these and a few other decorations are more delicate and elegant compared with the arcaded double opening (fols. 37v-38). The latter is somewhat crude and unsophisticated, possibly done by an apprentice, or on one of Joel's "bad days". At a later stage, Joel developed many more subjects to illustrate the text of the

Haggadah. 

 

This image belongs to the ''Ursula and Kurt Schubert Archive'' in the Center for Jewish Art.

Remarks

33 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Second New York Joel ben Simeon Haggadah | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1454
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
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Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Haggadah of Ashkenazi Rite. Names of biblical cantillations (Teamim, fol. 1v), laws of Passover (fol. 2), piyyutim and prayers for Passover Eve (fol. 3v), different orders of the Passover including mnemonic signs (fol. 11v), Kiddush and preliminary rituals (fol. 13v), Haggadah (fol. 15v).
Codicology

Parchment; 59 leaves; (270-275) x (202-210) mm; text space on fols. 15v-59 (>Haggadah>) (165-170) x (115-120) mm. and (115-180) x110 mm. on fols. 2-15 (laws and instructions).

The text is written in square Ashkenazi script in light brown ink; 11 lines per page on fols. 15v-59 (Haggadah) and up to 27 lines on fols. 2-15 (laws and instructions).

Ruling by stylus: 11 horizontal lines and 1 + 2 vertical lines. Pricking is noticeable in all outer margins.

7 quires of 10 leaves each, except for I&&1&&, IV&&8&&.

Catchwords are written vertically in the lower left-hand corner of the final verso of most quires. Some catchwords are decorated.

Fols. 1 and 11 are blank.

Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Fol. 59: אני הלבלר יואל ב"ר שמעון ז"ל המכונה וייבש אשכנזי מעיר/ קלונייא על נהר רינוס כתבתי/ נקדתי וציירתי ההגדה זה וסיימתי/ אותו בירח אילול שנת רי"ד לפר"ט. "I, the scrivener Joel bar Simeon, called Veibush Ashkenazi, from the city of Cologne on the river Rhine, wrote, vocalized, and illustrated this [masculine!]Haggadah and finished it [masculine] in the month of >Elul> [5]214 (25 August-22 September, 1454)" (see below).
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding

Original 15th century brown leather on wood with blind-tooled geometrical decoration of interlacing fillets on the front and back, which are almost entirely worn. The binding is in poor condition.

Decoration Program

A. One text illustration (fol. 26, see card).

B. 2 richly decorated double arches in brown and red ink (fols. 37v-38, see below).

C. 8 initial word panels decorated with human heads (fol. 15v) and figures (fol. 58, 58v), a deer (fol. 30), a hare (fol. 57v), an eagle (fol. 58v), and flourishes (fol. 43v), or shaped as a curtain (fol. 50) or a wreath (fol. 57); mostly coloured with brown and red ink and blue and white paint (see below).

D. 9 initial words decorated with marble-like undulating motifs (fols. 27, 29, 52), a banderole (fol. 27), acanthus leaves (fol. 30) and rosettes (fol. 31v), or filled with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic creatures (fols. 34v, 54v), mainly pen-drawn in brown and red ink (see below).

E. Many initial words decorated with penwork flourishes in brown and red ink (e.g. fols. 12v, 18v, 19, 26 (see card), 33, 33v (see bwlow), 40v, 54).

F. Some initial words have overlapping letters (e.g. fols. 14v, 25v, 28 (see below), 42v (see below)).

G. Numerous red and brown ink flourishes and minute floral motifs within the text column (e.g. fols. 13, 13v (see below), 14, 23v, 31, 33, 39v, 43 (see below), 49v, (see below), 56).

H. Decorated ascenders and descenders (e.g. fols. 24v (see card), 32, 34, 35, 48 (see below)).

Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Fol. 59v: Owner's inscription:שלי יוסף בכר מנחם יזייא מטוסיניאל קניתי אותו ... "Mine, Joseph ben Mena@hem of Tossignano (?)" Under it in a similar hand: זכור כי יש משכון בעד כ"ה ליט "Remember that this is pawned for 25 pounds Fol. 1: Sale inscription: IJA 0011677 HSM H זכרון עדות שהיה במנינן היום יום ו יא מרצו רעט איך קנה ר' אילייא רביא ... בכמ"ר. ... זאת ההגדה מר' שבתי בכמ"ר יהודה מטוסינייאלי שותפו שהוא מנהיג הבוטיגה בזמן הזה ימחל לי את חלקו בפנינו ביום יחתם השנה הנז' שריר וקים. On Friday, 11 March [5]279 (=1519) Rabbi Elia Ravia bought the Haggadah from Rabbi Shabtai bar Judah of Tossignano, the master of the workshop Witnesses:יואב בכמוהרר מנחם אלייא ממילי ... גם אני משה בכ"ר שמואל מקרפי הייתי בחברת המלמד כמ"ר יואב... כד' לעשות הפשרה בין שכיני יצ"ו. Yo'av bar Menahem Elia of Meli (?) ... and I Moses bar Samuel of Carpi accompanied Yo'av the teacher ... in order to mediate between the neighbours Fol. 59v: Censor's signature: Fr[ater] Hipp[olitu]s Ferr[arenses] purgavit 1601. Inside front cover: Tamael sarafino francesco frater mio no [...?] Lodovico. Inside front cover: Ex libris Mortimer L. Schiff Presented to the JTS Library on 2 March 1959. Accession No. 01802.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources
Italiener, 1927, pp. 197, 281; Fooner, 1937, p. 217; Marx, 1944, p. 269; N.Y., Jewish Museum, 1965, No. 33; Narkiss, 1969, pp. 124, 171, (Hebrew ed.) 1984, p. 221; Gutmann, 1970, pp. 76-95; IJA 0011677 BIB L Metzger, 1973, p. 503; Beit-Arie, 1977, pp. 25-39; Edmunds, 1980, pp. 25-34; Goldstein, 1985, p. 9; N.Y., Public Library, 1988, p. 201; N.Y., Jewish Museum, 1989, No. 37, pp. 229-230; IJA 0011677 BIB L Narkiss, B., 1991, pp. 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 88, 89, 91.
Type
Documenter
Evelyn Cohen; Bezalel Narkiss; E.W.G. | 1990, 1991
Author of description
Evelyn Cohen; Bezalel Narkiss; E.W.G. | 1990, 1991
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
Michal Sternthal | Aug. 2019
Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |