An Elaborately Embroidered Passover and Festival Tablecloth, [Germany] 1779

AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE 18^TH CENTURY JUDAICA TEXTILE FOR THE HOME

This remarkable embroidered tablecloth represents an exceptionally rare survival of the domestic textile traditions of eighteenth-century German Jewry. In Jewish homes of early modern Germany, embroidered textiles were created to celebrate the Jewish holidays, especially Passover. These works not only beautified the table but also served as vehicles of cultural memory and religious instruction. While there are several extant textiles for Passover known as Sederzwehl (narrow towels used during the Passover Seder) complete, fully embroidered festival tablecloths are extraordinarily scarce. This tablecloth exemplifies the tradition at its artistic height: its lavish composition encompasses motifs relating to Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, and Rosh Hashanah, as well as scenes from the Bible, and the complete text of the Passover Kiddush—all framed within an unmistakably German artistic vocabulary of costume, architecture, and design. The present cloth, dated 1779, with its sophisticated iconography, extensive textual program, and detailed biblical scenes reveal a maker deeply versed in Jewish liturgy, ritual, and artistic symbolism.

The images in the two upper registers (from right to left):

• A pair of heraldic deer in the two upper corners. In the iconography of German Jews, the deer or doe symbolize the people of Israel. Their presence may also allude to the rabbinic maxim: "Be strong as a leopard, swift as an eagle, swift as a deer, and valiant as a lion, to do the will of your Father in heaven." (Pirkei Avot 5:20): Indeed, additional pairs of animals - a double-headed eagle and a pair of lions, but not leopards, appear below.

• Two male figures identified as "Caleb" (right) and "Joshua" (left) are seen holding a large cluster of grapes. This imagery of the two biblical spies is a reference to the Jews’ entry into the land and the celebration of the agricultural holidays at their appointed times.

• Moses and Aaron flank a domed Temple structure, Aaron on the right is dressed as the high priest, while Moses on the left holds the Tablets and rays of light emanate from his head.

• Moses Receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The small figure of Moses is seen standing at the top of Mount Sinai holding the Tablets in his hands. Above him is a triangle from which rays of light emanate - a symbol of God's presence.

• A figure of a man holding an elongated lulav, myrtle and willow in his left hand, and in his right— an etrog. This imagery references the holiday of Sukkot.

• The scene representing the holiday of Shavuot is a Jew holding an open Torah scroll aloft. On the open parchment one can clearly read the verse spoken when the Torah is raised in the synagogue: "This is the Torah that Moses placed before the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 4:44).

The images in the central axis (from top to bottom):

• The central medallion features an image of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with the embroidered text of the Order of the Passover Seder around them; above, a large crown, labelled Keter Torah (the crown of the Torah) is held aloft by two cherubs.

The image of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is found on no less than five Passover Seder towels from the early 19^th century which also bear the emblem of the Kingdom of Bavaria. This unusual iconography on Passover textiles is not yet fully explained.

• Beneath the medallion with Adam and Eve a two-headed heraldic eagle with several letters in Hebrew that may reference the name of the original owner.

• Below the medallion to the right is the scene of the binding of Isaac, a common image in Jewish art. Here, Abraham, dressed in period clothing, can be seen holding the head of his son Isaac with his left hand, and an elongated scepter in his right hand. The angel hovering above him stops the scepter and points to the ram standing below on the left. The scene alludes to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah (the ram's horn is tied to the shofar from which the shofar is blown during the holiday).

• The image below the medallion at left also refers to the Rosh Hashanah holiday with a depiction of a man dressed in typical 18^th century German-Jewish clothing blowing a shofar. He stands in front of a rabbinical figure sitting in a chair with an open book in his hands. The image is further embellished with the Hebrew biblical verse "With trumpets and the sound of the shofar" (Psalms 33:6)

• A pair of heraldic lions frame the Hebrew verse from the book of Amos "A lion has roared! Who will not fear?" and between their paws is the date in Hebrew letters [5]539 (=1779)

Only two other 18^th century Judaica Tablecloths from Germany are known – one, dated 1763, is in the collection of The Jewish Museum, New York (JM 16-75 ) and the other, dated 1745, is in The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life in Berkeley (item # 75.183.137). Both tablecloths, however, are considerably simpler—their artistic program is limited primarily to Adam and Eve and floral motifs along with the embroidered text of the Kiddush blessing over wine. By contrast, the present tablecloth is an artistic tour-de-force: fully illustrated, densely symbolic, and liturgically complete.

Linen embroidered with Silk and Cotton thread, 144 x 170 cm.