An Italian Majolica Passover Plate [Savona or Albisola; second half of the nineteenth century]

(Diameter 18 1/4 in.; 465 mm).
The center, with the text of Ha Lahma and the order of the Seder, surrounded by wide molded rim illustrated with scenes of Moses rescued, the Passover Meal in Egypt, four heroes (Moses, Aaron, Solomon, David), and two floral plaques in molded borders. With an imaginative though invented Hebrew ownership inscription on the back " Isaac Cohen, Pesaro, 5373 (= 1613)".

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.

This decorative plate belongs to a group of majolica examples with "Renaissance" inscriptions, many held in museum collections around the world; one was displayed as early as 1887 in the famed Anglo-Jewish Historical exhibition in London.  Cecil Roth and various other scholars have wrestled with the dating and iconography of this group. However, in 1991, Dr. Vivian B. Mann established that the scenes on the plate are derived from the illustrations in the Trieste Haggadah of 1864. She thereby demonstrated that these Majolica Passover Plates are among the earliest examples of revivalist Judaica, created to meet the demand for early objects of Judaica among late-19th century collectors.  In her article, Dr. Mann lists a total of 28 known majolica Passover plates. The current example, however, was unknown and therefore unrecorded; it adds yet a new dimension to this interesting aspect of Judaica history.