Select manuscript from this collection: B26  B316 B318  S102  44/107

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Zürich
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Braginsky Collection
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
B317
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Passover Haggadah with commentaries (Braginsky Leipnik Haggadah)
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 44 ff. · 28.5 x 20 cm · Altona, copied and decorated by Joseph ben David of Leipnik · 1739
Language:
Language
Hebrew
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
Until the Braginsky Leipnik Haggadah was acquired for the Braginsky Collection in 2007, this Haggadah was not known in scholarly literature. It was illustrated by Joseph ben David of Leipnik in 1739. Like most of the Haggadot at that time, this exemplar is largely dependent on the copper engravings of the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712. The characteristics of Joseph ben David’s illustrations, whose work is well-known, are rendered here in an exemplary manner. The color palette is dominated by subtle gradations of color and shades of pastel. Frequently recurring motifs in his Haggadot, based on older models, are the illustrations of the Paschal lamb, the matzah and the bitter herbs. Eating these is part of the feast of Passover, during which it is tradition to read the Haggadah together. (red)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bc-b-0317 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bc-b-0317)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
http://e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bc/b-0317
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop http://e-codices.unifr.ch/metadata/iiif/bc-b-0317/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Zürich, Braginsky Collection, B317: Passover Haggadah with commentaries (Braginsky Leipnik Haggadah) (http://e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bc/b-0317).
Online Since:
Online Since
03/19/2015
External resources:
External resources
Rights:
Rights
Images:
(Concerning all other rights see each manuscript description and our Terms of use)
Document Type:
Document Type
Manuscript
Century:
Century
18th century
Dated:
Dated
1739
Decoration:
Decoration
Figurative, Full Page, Fully Painted, Initial, Ornamental, Text Block
Liturgica hebraica:
Liturgica hebraica
Haggadah
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e-codices · 03/20/2015, 16:22:34

Hijman (Hayyim ben Mordecai) Binger (1756–1830) is best known for a decorated daily prayer book, now in the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana (Hs. Ros. 681) in Amsterdam, which he executed in cooperation with his sons, Marcus and Anthonie, in 1820. He also copied numerous single-leaf manuscripts of contemporary poetry, mostly for family occasions, which are now housed in various collections worldwide. Binger began his career as a bookkeeper, but later worked primarily in a clothing rental business; he also may have been active in international trading. In 1827 he inherited a lending library from his brother, Meijer Binger, to which he devoted most of his time.
Both the above-mentioned prayer book and the Hijman Binger Haggadah typify Hebrew manuscript decoration in Central and Northern Europe at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. The previous flowering of Hebrew manuscript ornamentation and illustration started to decline around the middle of the eighteenth century. With few exceptions, notably a number of late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century examples from Hungary (such as cat. no. 54), the Bouton Haggadah (cat. no. 56) and the Charlotte von Rothschild Haggadah (cat. no. 55), most later works randomly copied iconographic and stylistic elements from the vast tradition of the preceding centuries. As a result, the later manuscripts lack the internal consistency and relative unity of style of the earlier examples.
In light of similarities between the illustrations in the Hijman Binger Haggadah and those in some of the later Haggadot executed by Joseph ben David of Leipnik, for example, the Rosenthaliana Leipnik Haggadah of 1738 and a Leipnik Haggadah from 1739 (cat. no. 45), it is likely that a Haggadah by this artist served as Binger’s primary model. The inclusion of a Hebrew map of the Holy Land, printed in the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695, though not unique to eighteenth-century manuscripts, may well be considered a rarity.

From: A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 142.

e-codices · 11/27/2014, 13:57:37

Until it appeared for auction in New York in 2007 and was subsequently acquired for the Braginsky Collection, this Passover Haggadah had resided in private hands and was not known in scholarly literature. Other works of Joseph ben David of Leipnik are well known; a number of his works appeared in facsimile editions in the 1980s. Joseph ben David’s manuscripts are among the most sought after in the Judaica market.
Although he is often considered the most influential scribe-artist of the eighteenth century, Joseph ben David was not the most productive one. Sixteen manuscripts signed by him are known. Copied between 1731 and 1740, all but one were illustrated by him as well. Fifteen of these are Passover Haggadot. He had already left his native Leipnik (Moravia; now Lipnik Nad Becvou, Czech Republic) for Frankfurt am Main by 1731. He then went to Darmstadt, where he produced manuscripts in 1732, 1733, and 1734, and settled in Altona not later than 1737. The names of some of his patrons are known through his colophons. He probably earned his living primarily as a teacher. In fact, he never refers to himself as “the Torah scribe,” as did some of his colleagues who were professional scribes. His name does not appear in the archives of the Hamburg or Altona Jewish communities.
The illustrations of Joseph ben David were innovative; he introduced new themes and a completely different palette. The iconographic program of the Braginsky Haggadah is similar to his other manuscripts of the same period and largely dependent on the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712. The colorful title page with the figures of Moses and Aaron is strongly reminiscent of a Haggadah recently discovered in the library of Blickling Hall in Norfolk, England, and of a number of other Haggadot from his hand. Its design is inspired by printed architectural title pages. Recurring elements in most of Joseph ben David’s Haggadot are the illustrations of the Pascal lamb, the matzah, and the bitter herbs. These illustrations were usually based on models older than the Amsterdam printed editions.

From: A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 128.

e-codices · 11/27/2014, 13:43:21

Das jüdische Pessachfest erinnert an die Befreiung aus der ägyptischen Knechtschaft und bringt zugleich die Hoffnung auf künftige Erlösung zum Ausdruck. Bei der häuslichen Feier liest man nach hergebrachtem Ritus gemeinsam die Haggada (Plural Haggadot), worin der historische Bericht und die religiöse Belehrung von den vorgeschriebenen Gebeten und Liedern begleitet werden. Zur Erbauung der Anwesenden, nicht zuletzt der Kinder, ist die Haggada häufig reich bebildert.
Bis zu ihrem Auftauchen in einer New Yorker Auktion im Jahr 2007, wo sie für die Braginsky Collection erworben wurde, war diese Haggada aus der Hand des Buchkünstlers Joseph ben David aus Leipnik in Privatbesitz. Die Forschung hatte keine Kenntnis von ihr. Andere seiner Werke waren jedoch wohlbekannt und eine ganze Reihe von ihnen erschien in den 1980er-Jahren als Faksimileausgaben. Obwohl Joseph ben David oft als einflussreichster Kopist und Illustrator hebräischer Handschriften des 18. Jahrhunderts bezeichnet wird, war er bei Weitem nicht der produktivste. Zwischen 1731 und 1740 signierte er lediglich 16 Werke, die er wahrscheinlich bis auf eines auch selber illustrierte. Sein Œuvre konzentrierte sich auf die Herstellung von Haggadot.
1731 hatte Joseph ben David seinen Herkunftsort Leipnik in Mähren (Lipník nad Bečvou) bereits verlassen, als er in Frankfurt am Main eine Haggada signierte. Im nahe gelegenen Darmstadt folgten zwischen 1732 und 1734 vier weitere Handschriften, darunter eine Sammlung mit Segenssprüchen (Birkat ha-mason). Spätestens 1737 begab er sich nach Altona, der damals zweitgrössten Stadt im dänischen Königreich mit einer bedeutenden jüdischen Gemeinde. In den Akten der Altonaer oder auch der Hamburger Gemeinde taucht Joseph ben Davids Name allerdings nicht auf. Seinen Lebensunterhalt verdiente er sich wohl hauptsächlich als Lehrer. In seinen Handschriften bezeichnete er sich nie als «Toraschreiber» – im Unterschied zu etlichen anderen professionellen Kopisten aus seiner Zeit.
Joseph ben Davids Illustrationen waren ausgesprochen innovativ, vor allem in Hinblick auf die Einführung neuer Themen und die Wahl einer abweichenden Farbenpalette, bei der feine Farbabstufungen und Pastelltöne dominierten. Das Bildprogramm der Braginsky Leipnik Haggada folgt – wie andere Haggadot Leipniks – im Wesentlichen den Kupferstichen der Amsterdamer Haggadot von 1695 und 1712. Das farbenprächtige Titelblatt mit den tradierten Figuren von Moses und Aaron gleicht sehr demjenigen einer Haggada, die in der Bibliothek von Blickling Hall in Norfolk/England aufbewahrt wird. Häufig wiederkehrende Motive in den meisten Leipnik Haggadot sind die auf ältere Vorbilder zurückgehenden Darstellungen des Pessachlamms, des Matzebrots und der Bitterkräuter, die während der Feier am ersten Pessachabend verzehrt werden.

Aus: Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 72.

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A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 128-129B.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 72-75.

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