All Libraries and Collections
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.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
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.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 42
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Diese bibliophile Kostbarkeit der Braginsky Collection zählt zu einer Gruppe von insgesamt sechs ähnlichen, im Miniaturformat hergestellten Omer-Büchern, die ins späte 18. und frühe 19. Jahrhundert datiert werden können. Der Silbereinband der Handschrift ist mit floralen Verzierungen versehen, auf der Vorderseite ist zusätzlich ein Monogramm und auf der Rückseite ein storchen ähnlicher Vogel mit einem Weizenhalm im Schnabel eingraviert. Dies dürfte eine Abwandlung jener häufig zu findenden jüdischen Familienembleme sein, in denen Vögel mit Zweigen im Schnabel zu sehen sind. Das Motiv verweist möglicherweise auf die Garbe des Omer-Opfers. Bei den Texten handelt es sich um die Segenssprüche für das Omer-Zählen, des weiteren um Psalm 67, der rezitiert wird, weil er – entsprechend der 49 Tage der Omer-Zählung – sieben Verse mit jeweils sieben Worten enthält, und schliesslich um den aktuellen Kalender.
Das Büchlein enthält fünfzig naiv und zugleich zierlich gemalte Illustrationen zur Bibel. Sie begleiten fast jeden Tag des Kalenders (dem zweiten Tag ist keine Illustration beigefügt, dagegen folgen auf den 49. Tag zwei zusätzliche Illustrationen). Die im Katalog abgebildeten Illustrationen zeigen: 3. «Als sie auf dem Feld waren, erhob sich Kain gegen seinen Bruder Abel und erschlug ihn» (Genesis 4:8); 7. «Und er [Abraham] stand bei ihnen [den drei Engeln] unter dem Baum» (Genesis18:8); 9. «Dann liess der Herr auf Sodom und Gomorra Schwefel und Feuer regnen» (Genesis 19:24); 22. «Im Traum sah ich [Joseph] vor mir einen Weinstock» (Genesis 40:9); 28. «Der ganze Sinai war in Rauch gehüllt» (Exodus 19:18); 40. «Und sie [Delila] sorgte dafür, dass ihm [Simson] die sieben Locken vom Haupt geschnitten wurden» (Richter 16:19); 41. «Und das Haus [der Tempel der Philister] stürzte über den Fürsten zusammen» (Richter 16:30); 43. «Und Elischa sah es [die Himmelfahrt des Elias] und rief laut» (2. Könige 2:12); 46. «Der Herr aber schickte einen grossen Fisch, der Jona verschlang» (Jona 2:1); 49. «Hanania, Mischael and Asaria im Feuerofen» (nach Daniel).
Aus: Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Fals Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 150.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 158.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 34.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 140.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 96.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 66.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 76.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 160.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
more than ten percent of the general civilian population. At the time this ketubbah was produced most of Gibraltar’s retail trade was conducted by the local
Sephardic community; many of its members came from the adjacent parts of North Africa.
Following other Sephardic communities, Gibraltar’s Jews excelled in the art of ketubbah decoration. Contracts were written on large pieces of parchment and ornamented in bright colors. By the second half of the nineteenth century Gibraltar developed its own characteristic and readily identifiable type of decoration.
The present Gibraltar contract belongs to an early period of local ketubbah decoration, though some of its features foretell later developments. The upper section depicts a pair of lions crouched back-to-back, overlaid with circles containing the abbreviated Ten Commandments. The composition is reminiscent of the top of Torah arks and indeed it is topped with a crown, intended as a Torah Crown. This motif, typical of later Gibraltar ketubbot, was often modeled on the British royal crown. The crouching lions are flanked by vases of flowers. In the side borders, beneath theatrical drapery and trumpets suspended from ribbons, fanciful column bases are surmounted by urns.
Several elements in the marriage contract are characteristic of Gibraltar ketubbot. The initial word of the wedding day, Wednesday, as was common, is enlarged and ornamented. The sum of the dowry and increment is a factor of eighteen, the number that is also the propitious word hai, written here in monumental letters amid small cursive script. Also typical of Gibraltar is the ornamental Latin monogram at bottom center. Comprising the letters S J B, it refers to the bridal couple’s first (Solomon, Judith) and last (Benoleil) initials. This feature is also found in Moroccan ketubbot, as are the section with Sephardic conditions, and the request that God take revenge for the expulsion of the Jews from Castile (cat. no. 76).
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. 212.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Im oberen Teil werden zwei Rücken an Rücken kauernde Löwen teilweise von zwei Tafeln mit den in Abkürzungen wiedergegebenen Zehn Geboten verdeckt. Darüber befindet sich eine Krone, die als «Krone der Tora» zu deuten ist. Tatsächlich mutet diese dekorative Konstellation wie der obere Teil eines Toraschreins an, was zugleich ein typisches Gestaltungsmotiv der Ketubbot aus Gibraltar ist. Auf den Seitenteilen erscheinen Postamente mit dekorativen Blumenvasen und Draperien, an denen Bänder mit Schleifen und Blasinstrumente hängen.
Der Vertragstext ist im Wesentlichen in einer sefardischen Kursive geschrieben. Auffallend sind im letzten Drittel des Textes die monumentalen Buchstaben des Wortes Chai, das zum einen den Zahlenwert 18 hat und somit auf die Gesamtsumme von Aufgeld und Mitgift in der Höhe von 1800 Pesos verweist, zum anderen ist es der Name für den «lebendigen Gott». Ebenso typisch für Ketubbot aus Gibraltar, aber auch aus Marokko, sind aus lateinischen Buchstaben zusammengesetzte Monogramme. Hier stehen die Initialen sjb für die Vornamen und den Familiennamen des Hochzeitspaars.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 212.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Aus: Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 214.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
While several versions of ketubbot for Shavuot are known, the most popular in Sephardic communities has been the poetic text composed by the renowned mystic of Safed, Rabbi Israel Najara (1555?–1625?). A modified version of Najara’s text is employed in the present contract, in which the bridegroom, Israel, is introduced as “ruler of rulers … superior above all nations,” while the bride is “the dear and pleasant, a maiden of many virtues, God’s perfect Torah.” The father of the bride, God, provides his daughter with a substantial dowry, composed of positive and negative commandments; the bridegroom desiring to transmit these valuable assets to his descendents, willingly obligates himself to this bond. He will never take a second wife (namely, another religion), and neither abandon nor neglect her. Their dwelling will be in the Land of Israel, as Heaven and Earth witness the union. The wedding is recorded as having taken place on Mount Sinai on Friday, 6 Sivan 2448 (1313 BCE), the traditional date of the Giving of the Law.
Divided into three sections, this special text appears within an imposing wooden architectural setting, comprising three arches and a broken pediment, within which is a crowned Decalogue. The upper story employs a dynamic rhythm of decorative architectural elements. The entire structure resembles a typical Sephardic Torah ark (ehal) from the synagogues of Gibraltar. Indeed the name of one of these synagogues, Nefutzot Yehudah, founded 1799, appears at the top. Certainly this sumptuous ketubbah was once chanted there. Many other features associate the contract with the Gibraltar community and its ketubbot. Based on this example it is clear that the British crown in Gibraltar’s ketubbot (cat. no. 74) should be interpreted also as a Torah Crown.
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. 214.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This large piece of parchment is decoratively trimmed at the top. Its captivating border, highlighted by designs in strikingly bright tones of gold and green, closely follows popular frames of the time. Within the colorful floral and ornamental patterns that frame the text are three vibrant biblical episodes. Supported by a pair of classical hybrid figures at top center, the main episode depicts the prophet Elijah ascending to heaven, riding in his fiery horse-drawn chariot, while his amazed disciple, Elisha, watches below. The identification of the scene is confirmed by a biblical quote from II Kings 2:11. Typical of Italian ketubbot, the depiction of biblical heroes in their finest hour alludes to the names of the bridal couple. This scene thus refers to the bridegroom’s first name, as Elia is a variant of Elijah. This identification is reinforced by the crown above, alluding to the “crown of the good name” of the groom.
The other two biblical episodes appear in the cartouches at the center of each of the side borders. At right, the scene of the Triumph of Mordecai, inscribed with the text of Esther 6:11, refers to the second name of the bridegroom, Mordecai. Depicted
at left is another triumph – that of David over Goliath, accompanied by a quote from I Samuel 18:14. As no biblical figure bears the bride’s name, Tova, the selected scene refers not to her, but to her father, David Camerino.
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. 192.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Die üppige, in leuchtendem Gold und Grün gehaltene Randbordüre orientiert sich an den beliebten dekorativen Rahmenmustern der Zeit. Die Szenen in den drei Kartuschen sind allesamt Anspielungen auf die Namen wichtiger Akteure bei dieser Hochzeit. Zunächst als Anspielung auf den ersten Namen des Bräutigams in der oberen Kartusche – mit der «Krone des guten Namens» versehen – die Himmelfahrt des Propheten Elija auf dem von Pferden gezogenen Feuerwagen, während sein Begleiter und Schüler Elischa staunend zurückbleibt. Dabei stehen die Worte aus dem entsprechenden Bibelvers: «Und Elija fuhr im Wirbelwind gen Himmel» (2. Könige 2:11). In der rechten Randbordüre nimmt der «Triumph Mordechais» aus dem Buch Esther Bezug auf den zweiten Namen. Die Szene mit David, der das Haupt Goliaths hält, ist hingegen als Reverenz gegenüber dem Brautvater zu verstehen.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 196.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
In den 1640er-Jahren schuf der bekannte jüdische Graveur Salom Italia für Ketubbot der spanisch-portugiesischen Gemeinde einen Kupferstichrahmen, der wiederum einen anonymen lokalen Künstler zu dem modifizierten Nachstich der vorliegenden Ketubba von 1668 inspirierte. Mehr als zwei Jahrhunderte lang schmückte dieser Rahmen sefardische Ketubbot in Hamburg, Bayonne, London, New York oder Curaçao. Dem sefardischen Brauch in Westeuropa entsprechend, sind die Vertragsinhalte getrennt aufgeführt: Das obere Textfeld enthält den konventionellen, weitgehend formelhaften Teil, das untere die spezifischen Vertragsbedingungen (tenaim).
Im Rundbogen der säulengestützten Architektur halten zwei Putti ein Tuch mit der hebräischen Aufschrift "unter einem guten Zeichen" - Ausdruck des Wunsches, die eheliche Verbindung möge unter einem Glückstern stehen. Auf den seitlichen Rändern entfalten sich aus Prunkvasen säulenähnlich arrangierte Gebinde mit Blumen, Vögeln und Insekten. Die beiden Figurengruppen in den oberen Ecken thematisieren die Ideale der ehelichen Verbindung und der mütterlichen Liebe. Dabei erscheint die weibliche Gestalt im gebauschten Kleid mit den beiden nackten Kleinkindern als Typus der christlichen Allegorie der Caritas, der fürsorgenden Nächstenliebe.
Der Bräutigam dieser Ketubba, Daniel Zemach Aboab, hatte im Jahr zuvor sein medizinisches Examen in Utrecht abgelegt und praktizierte nun als Arzt in Amsterdam. Er leitet die fromme Vereinigung Talmud Tora ("Studium der Tora") der Sefardengemeinde und kümmerte sich um die Spendenwerbung des Vereins für Krankenpflege Bikkur Cholim.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 208.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
In Amsterdam in the late 1640s the noted Italian Jewish engraver Shalom Italia created a copper engraving used as the border for the ketubbot of the Portuguese community. Italia’s border subsequently inspired an unidentified local engraver to create a modified version. The new border, of which this example is one of the earliest, became the most widespread framing device for marriage contracts of Dutch Sephardim. For more than two hundred years this border adorned Sephardic ketubbot produced in Hamburg, Bayonne, London, New York, and Curaçao.
The popular border consists of an arch supported by two columns entwined with floral wreaths. Sunrays and clouds appear within the arch; a pair of putti hold a cloth upon which is engraved the blessing “with a good sign.” The side borders are filled with large vases, flanked by small pots, containing Dutch tulips and other flowers in which are nestled birds and insects.
Two images appear in the top corners. The one on the right depicts a young couple dressed in elegant attire; they hold each other’s right hand, a symbolic gesture of matrimony. The one on the left portrays a young, bare-breasted woman who holds a baby, while a second child stands next to her. The group personifies Caritas (Charity), a depiction popular in Baroque art in Italy and Holland. The two images symbolize the ideals of marriage and motherhood. The large ornamental cartouche at the bottom contains the special conditions common among Western Sephardim. The calligraphic text commemo- rates the marriage of a known Sephardic physician, Daniel Tzemah Aboab, who was active in his commu- nity as the head of the local Talmud Torah and as a fund raiser for the Bikkur Holim Society from 1689 to 1718.
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. 208.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
illustration in Ancona. While the art of ketubbah decoration declined in northern Italy during the last decades of the eighteenth century, in central Italy,
most prominently in the papal states of Rome and Ancona, it continued to flourish well into the nineteenth century, especially among affluent families. In fact, the bridegroom in this marriage contract is evidently the grandson of his namesake, the noted physician Shabettai Isaac Fiani, who served as rabbi and head of the rabbinical court in Ancona from 1752 to 1770.
In an attempt to use the entire skin of the animal, Ancona’s craftsmen decoratively trimmed the area around the animal’s neck, with the contour of the shoulders creating the wavy form seen here at the top. The ornamental border is dominated by large red spaces, upon which floral designs in sparedground technique appear. The emphasis on large areas of red and blue are typical of ketubbot and megillot from Ancona.
The text is centered under an arch supported by a pair of ornamental gilt columns. While arches were commonly used as framing devices in ketubbah decoration since the earliest known ketubbot from the Cairo Genizah, the gold letters inscribed here against the blue spandrels provide an additional meaning. The six square Hebrew letters, an acronym for Psalms 118:20: “This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous may enter,” signify that the bridal couple is symbolically passing through
the heavenly gate into a sanctified stage in their life. The standard Jewish word for marriage, kiddushim, literally means sanctification.
A depiction of the Sacrifice of Isaac, an allusion to the bridegroom whose second name is Isaac, is located in a cartouche at the top center. This scene, a symbol of faithfulness and messianic promise that appears on many Italian ketubbot, has been the most popular biblical story in Jewish art over the ages. The figure beneath, who is more difficult to identify, is perhaps the prophet Samuel, an allusion to the groom’s father.
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. 194.
Online Since: 03/22/2017