An Italian Majolica Passover Plate, late 19th century

Morpurgo Collection, Trieste

Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York, sold

Sotheby's, New York, "A Treasured Legacy: The Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection," 29 April 2013, lot 259.

This plate belongs to a group of majolica examples with pseudo-"Renaissance" inscriptions, many held in museum collections; one was shown as earl as 1887 in the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition in London. Cecil Roth in 1964 and various other writers have wrestled with the dating and iconography of this group, but in 1991 Vivian B. Mann showed that the scenes are derived from the Trieste Haggadah of 1864 - meaning that these are among the earliest examples of Revivalist Judaica, created to supply a taste for antique pieces among late 19th century collectors. See Vivian B. Mann, "Forging Judaica: The Case of the Italian Majolica Seder Plates,” in Art and Its Uses: The Visual Image and Modern Jewish Society. Ezra Mendelsohn, ed., Oxford University Press, 1991.