Detailed
Description |
|
The Rosenthallana Leipnik Haggadah was written by Joseph, son of David of Leipnik, who was by far the most important and influential scribe of the Hamburg-Altona school of Hebrew illuminated manuscripts. This particular school must be seen as part of the broader revival of Hebrew manuscript illumination in the eighteenth century, long after the general acceptance of the printed book. Joseph came originally from Leipnik in Moravia and belonged to the second generation of eighteenth-century scribes who followed the original Moravian school where this revival had started. Compared with other contemporary scribes, Joseph of Leipnik does not appear to have been a very prolific scribe. Yet he introduced some changes and innovations. So far, only thirteen manuscripts written by him, all of them Haggadot, have been discovered. From the colophons of his manuscripts, we learn that he was active between 1731 and 1740. He wrote his first Haggadah in Frankfurt am Main in 1731. He then moved to Darmstadt, and in 1737 he reached Altona, at that time part of Denmark. He remained in Altona and Hamburg, where he continued to produce manuscripts.
Although the Rosenthaliana Haggadah was probably written to be presented as a personal gift, there is no indication as to the identity of its original owner. Its provenance remains enigmatic, until 1923, when it was donated to the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana by M. A. and S. Keizer. The Haggadah, which includes an abbreviated version of the commentary on the Haggadah by Isaac Abrabanel, as well as a short mystical commentary, appears to have been written for an Ashkenazi patron. This is indicated, for example, by the fact that the captions to the illustrations were written in Yiddish and Hebrew. Yet, following the model of the printed Amsterdam Haggadah, the instructions are given both in Yiddish and Ladino, and the Grace after Meals is copied in both Ashkenazi and Sephardi versions.
Leipnik's colourful, elegant parchment Haggadah gave expression to the sentiments of a new class of wealthy Jews who adopted a life-style similar to that of the non-Jewish aristocracy. This style is reflected not only in the genre scenes, such as the one depicting a couple performing the ceremony of the blessing over the wine at the Seder table (fol. 3a), but also in biblical scenes, in which the patrons' dress, hair style, houses, and cultural aspiration are reflected. Thus, the daughter of Pharaoh, in the 'Finding of Moses', is portrayed as a Nordic fair-haired princess in ermine robe (fol. 10a). Even the Four Sons of the Haggadah narrative are portrayed as four figures of different ages, all dressed in contemporary attire, and depicted within an elegant house.
Like all eighteenth-century Haggadah manuscripts, Leipnik's Haggadah was primarily modelled after the two editions of the Amsterdam Haggadah (1695 and 1712), illustrated with copper engravings by Abraham bar Jacob. Occasionally, however, an illustration is taken from a different source. The title-page of the Rosenthaliana Haggadah for example, was modelled on the title-page of Sefer Yad Yosef, printed in Amsterdam, by Immanuel son of Joseph Athias, in 1700. This title-page is based on a similar title designed by Abraham bar Jacob for the book Shene Luchot Ha-berit, printed in 1698 also by Athias.[2] As indicated in its Yiddish caption, the title-page illustrates the crown of the Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of kingship and the crown of 'a good name' (Sayings of the Fathers 4:17), represented respectively by the figures of Moses, Aaron, King David, and King Solomon.
Both iconographically and stylistically the Rosenthaliana Haggadah bears similarities to the 1737 Leipnik Haggadah, which is in a private collection in London, and to a lost 1738 Haggadah by Leipnik, that was formerly in the possession of Dr. Linel in Frankfurt am Main. While some of Leipnik's Haggadot were not painted by the scribe himself, it appears that in the case of the Rosenthaliana Haggadah, Leipnik was responsible for both the writing and the painting. |
