Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695

Abraham ben Jacob (c. 1669–1730) was a German-born Jewish convert who worked as an engraver in Amsterdam
His picture cycle designed for the Amsterdam Haggadah was to influence the printed Haggadah editions of the following decades
He also created what is probably the second oldest Hebrew map of the Holy Land, which forms part of the manuscript as a double page

Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695

Description

Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695

As one of the first Haggadot illuminated with copperplate engravings, the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695 had a formative influence on various later printed Haggadot and their picture cycles. The 1695 edition was published by the Amsterdam printing house of Moshe ben Yoseph Wesel, where Asher Anschel ben Eliezer Hazan and Issachar Baer ben Avraham Eliezer were responsible for the masterful printing. The influential picture cycle was created by the converted Jewish copperplate engraver Abraham ben Jacob (ca. 1669–1730). As an artist who was probably socialized as a Christian, he drew inspiration not from the woodcuts of earlier printed Haggadot, but from the works of Hans Holbein the Younger and Matthäus Merian the Elder, who created important picture cycles for Christian Bibles. Abraham ben Jacob adapted the images for the Amsterdam Haggadah to suit a Jewish audience and added a densely illustrated frontispiece. In addition, he designed one of the first Hebrew maps of the Holy Land, preceded only by Abraham Goos' map of the religiously significant region. It is bound into the manuscript as a double page and illustrates the route of the Exodus.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Seder Haggadah Shel Pasah
Amsterdam Haggadah with Map
Amsterdam Haggadah von 1695
Wesel Haggadah
Type: Printed book on paper
Size / Format: 52 pages / Codex: 31.5 × 20.5 cm Map: 19.0 × 10.5 cm
Origin: Netherlands
Date: 1695
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Baroque
Hebrew
Genre: Judaism / Hebrew
Language: Hebrew
Illustrations: 1 frontispiece, 2 woodcuts, 20 half-page copperplate engravings, 1 double-page map of the Holy Land
Content: Texts for the Sedar ritual and a map of the Holy Land
Patron: Moshe ben Yoseph Wesel
Artist / School: Abraham ben Jacob (c. 1669–1730) (engraver)
Asher Anschel ben Eliezer Hazan (printer)
Issachar Baer ben Avraham Eliezer (printer)
Previous Owners: Dr. Mordechai Hirsch
Dr. Wolf Hirsch
Loser Wolf Schwabacher

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#1 The Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695

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Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695