Passover Haggadah with Twelve Companion Volumes, Designed by Yaakov Daniel, [Jerusalem]: Avi Luvaton Studio, [2014]

Limited edition, 4/36, signed on the title page by Yaakov Daniel and Avi Luvaton.

Yaakov Daniel, a Jerusalem-based artist, has been working in the field of illuminated Hebrew manuscripts since the mid-1980s. Over the course of his career, he has decorated numerous ketubbot, megillot, haggadot, and other biblical and rabbinic texts, often in partnership with other artists. Each of his creations combines graphic and calligraphic art to bring new life to the traditional text. The present lot, produced in collaboration with Avi Luvaton—himself a well-known luxury Judaica artist from Jerusalem who specializes in cutting-edge techniques—dramatizes the story of the Exodus from Egypt, as well as the Seder ritual, via a series of twenty-three full-page and several half-page illustrations and decorations, often inspired by imagery from the Holy City and the interpretations of the Midrash. Printed on high-quality deckle-edge paper by Jerusalem Fine Art Prints, this magnificent Haggadah is accompanied by twelve reproductions for use by all the participants at the Seder table in fulfillment of the biblical injunction: “And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt’” (Ex. 13:8).

Provenance

Leonard & Linda Eckhaus, Shevat [5]774 (signed artist’s dedication on pastedown of upper board)

Physical Description

Main Volume: 42 folios (approx. 15 3/8 x 11 1/2 in.; approx. 390 x 290 mm) on artistic paper, imposed from left to right. Twenty-three full-page and several half-page illustrations and decorations; many pages framed by foliate designs; multicolor texts, often including tagin (crownlets). Some ink transferred from facing pages. Luxurious brown leather; metallic title design, in Hebrew and English, on upper board; Avi Luvaton insignia gilt on lower board.

Twelve Reproductions: each copy also signed by Yaakov Daniel and Avi Luvaton in pen on title page; each copy in virtually pristine, like new condition. White leather; title design embossed on upper board; silk bookmark; Avi Luvaton insignia gilt on lower board.

All 13 volumes housed in a brown leather display case.