Decorated banner for the Passover Seder (Bavaria, ca. 1825)
The Neumark family collection
This exquisite Easter textile was created to be used during the Passover Seder for repeated ritual hand washing. The towel features an embroidered text in Hebrew that describes the order of the Passover Seder, and below it is a colourful flower basket and a scene with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
At the top of the towel, a floral wreath is framed by an elaborate coat of arms: a crowned shield with a chessboard pattern, which depicts a crossed scepter and sword supported by two crowned lions. Below is the image of a lamb, symbolising the Easter sacrifice.
Recent research has shown that this coat of arms, which features prominently on this object and similar towels from the collections of the Jewish Museum and the Bernard Museum, is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which was used in 1807-1835.
