Auction 100 – Important Hebrew Manuscripts and Books from the Victor (Avigdor) Klagsbald Collection
By Kedem
Jan 21, 2025
8 Ramban St, Jerusalem., Israel

The importance of the Victor (Avigdor) Klagsbald Collection can hardly be overestimated, charting nearly a millennium of Jewish life across the globe – some one thousand years of religion, culture, literature and art.

Mr. Klagsbald, who passed away 5 years ago, was one of the most prominent collectors of Jewish art in the second half of the 20th century and a noted scholar, who built a collection of exceptional quality, much of which is now being offered for auction.

Each item in the collection was professionally catalogued by Mr. Klagsbald himself, who also added detailed descriptions in neat, cursive French along with enclosed photographs. These descriptions were indexed by subject and kept in organized dossiers, of which our researchers made use while preparing the present catalogue. Many items from the collection were made known to the public throughout the years in books and articles he authored; we select for particular mention Klagsbald's catalogue of Moroccan manuscripts, published in Paris in 1980 – Catalogue des manuscrits marocains de la collection Klagsbald – and his book A l'ombre de Dieu: dix essais sur la symbolique dans l'art juif, published in Belgium in 1997. Mr. Klagsbald was also one of the founders of the Museum of Jewish Art and History (mahJ) in Paris, and authored the catalogue of the Cluny collection now preserved in the museum, which was exhibited in the Israel Museum in 1982.

The present catalogue contains a selection of manuscripts, important printed books in first and rare editions, copies of distinguished ownership and with annotations, and letters and signatures spanning Orient and Occident, all scarce to be found. The two hundred lots featured in the catalogue include early manuscripts such as Sefer HaPeliah scribed in Tripoli (Lebanon), 1497; Moshav Zekenim, scribed in Crotone (Italy), 1473 – formerly Ms. Sassoon 409; Midrash HaGadol, written by the renowned scribe R. David son of Benaiah of Sanaa (Yemen), 1473; and several volumes of halachic rulings from Morocco, including hundreds of autographs and thousands of signatures by Moroccan rabbis from various cities. One of the volumes contains a letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim ibn Attar, the Or HaChaim (many items in the collection originate from the Abensour collection in Fez).

The parchment manuscripts include decorated and illustrated siddurim such as the Arizal's Tikunei Shabbat, crafted by the scribe and illuminator Meshulam Simmel of Polna in Vienna, 1714, and Haggadot illustrated in the style of the Moravian school. The books with handwritten glosses include Zohar Chadash – the personal copy of kabbalist R. Moshe Zacuto, with his glosses, as well as the signature of the Chida; a manuscript of Sefer HaKavanot compiled by kabbalist R. Natan Nata Hannover, with his signature and many glosses in his hand; and a Pri Etz Chaim manuscript, scribed by R. Moshe of Liuboml, which belonged to R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov, brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov. The catalogue also includes unpublished manuscript works, including one authored by a disciple of the Pnei Yehoshua and R. Yehonatan Eibeshitz, with an original letter of ordination from the latter; and a Chassidic work with original letters of approbation by Rebbe Mordechai Dov of Hornostaipil and his sons.

On the occasion of its 16th anniversary and its 100th catalogue, Kedem Auction House is honored to present the Klagsbald Collection for public auction. We strive – and will continue to strive – to offer our clients rare and important items and to present them in high-quality and accurate catalogues. We have endeavored to uphold this aspiration in the present catalogue as well.


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LOT 7:

Passover Haggadah – Parchment Manuscript, Illuminated in Color by the Scribe Abraham of Ihringen – Breisach am ...

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Auction took place on Jan 21, 2025 at Kedem
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Passover Haggadah – Parchment Manuscript, Illuminated in Color by the Scribe Abraham of Ihringen – Breisach am Rhein, Near Alsace, 1740

Passover Haggadah. Illuminated parchment manuscript by the scribe Abraham of Ihringen. Ihringen, Baden-Württemberg / Breisach am Rhein, close to the Alsace border, [1740].


The Haggadah text is written in vocalized square script; the instructions and the rhyming Yiddish texts accompanying the illustrations are written in Ashkenazic semi-cursive ("Rashi") script.
At the center of the title page, the scribe signs his name: "Order of the Passover Haggadah in the Holy Tongue, with several illustrations depicting all the signs and wonders done to our forefathers in Egypt… inscribed on clean parchment, and finely inscribed lettering, and other beautiful things. Completed by Abraham Sofer Stam of Ihringen in the Margraviate near the fortress of Old Breisach close to the River Rhine".

The designation "Margraviate" apparently refers to the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach, then under the rule of Karl Friedrich, later the Grand Duke of Baden; "the fortress of Old Breisach" is meant to distinguish this location – Breisach am Rhein, in the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach – from Neuf-Brisach (New Breisach), situated on the opposite bank of the Rhine, in Alsace.


The medallion at the top of the title page seems to give the Hebrew year 5530 (1770).
On p. 1b is a poem in Yiddish rhyme. At the top of this page, enclosed within a round medallion, is a brief text, also in Yiddish rhyme, a self-advertisement on the part of the scribe, appealing to all those interested in acquiring a similar Haggadah to "run" to Abraham the Scribe and commission it at a bargain price.
The name of the person who commissioned the present Haggadah appears on p. 2a: "This Haggadah belongs to… the well-known community leader R. Zalman Wiesel of Karlsruhe, [1740]" – according to this inscription the manuscript was created in 1740, and not in 1770 as appears on the title page. Possibly, the date on the title page was also intended to be 1740, and the added Hebrew letter "lamed" (= 30) was meant to be a shortened form of the common abbreviation "lamed-pey-kuf".
Illustrations and artwork:
The text of the Haggadah appears at the center of each page, enclosed in a frame surrounded on all sides by colorful decorations – mostly alternating vegetal patterns. In addition, the illustrated figures of the biblical heroes Moses, Aaron, King David, and King Solomon are recurrent motifs on many of the Haggadah's pages. On some of the pages, figures in period costume also appear. Some of the frames are adorned with an architectonic arch or gable, typically surmounted by a pair of rampant lions flanking a round medallion bearing the words "Passover Haggadah".
Also included among the images framing the text are more than 50 illustrations depicting preparations for the Passover holiday and scenes representing the Haggadah's narrative. In addition to these, the text is accompanied by a dozen title-illustrations marking the stages or segments of the Passover seder, ten illustrations portraying the Ten Plagues, six additional title-illustrations representing the stages of the seder (before the Grace After Meals), and 25 illuminated initials.


The illustrations in this Haggadah are modeled after woodcuts used in the "Venice Haggadah", printed by Giovanni (Zuan) di Gara in 1609. The texts in rhyme that appear in the margins of some of the pages were also apparently borrowed from the Venice Haggadah. Abraham of Ihringen's Haggadah thus differs from most similar manuscripts dating from the 18th century, insofar as the latter were typically based on the "Amsterdam Haggadah", originally printed in Amsterdam in 1695 (see, for instance, the following item).
Three other Haggadot scribed and illustrated by Abraham of Ihringen are known to be extant: One, dated 1732, is part of the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (Ms. 181/48); a second, dated 1756, belongs to the Jewish Museum, London (no. 639A); and an undated third Haggadah is found in the collection of Harvard University, Cambridge Mass. (Ms. Heb. 69). One additional Haggadah, dated 1731 and created in a style reminiscent of the work of Abraham of Ihringen, was donated in 2020 to Le Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (mahJ, Paris, item D.2020.02.001). For additional information, see: Haviva Peled-Carmeli, Illustrated Haggadot of the Eighteenth Century, Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1983, Haggadah no. 1, pl. 1, 104.


[26] leaves. 32X22 cm. Overall fair-good condition. Creases, stains (including dark stains) and wear. Water damage to several leaves, affecting text and illustrations. Tear to one leaf. Binding from 19th or early 20th century, marble paper with parchment spine and corners.


Reference: Ernest Naményi, "La miniature juive au XVIIe et au XVIIIe siècle", Revue des études juives, 1957, no. 116, pp. 27-72, mentioned on pp. 68-69, illustrated in pl. 14.
Exhibitions:
1. "Synagoga, Kultgeräte und Kunstwerke von der Zeit der Patriarchen bis zur Gegenwart", Recklinghausen Städtische Kunsthalle, 1960-61, item B40.
2. "Gleiche Rechte für alle?, zweihundert Jahre jüdische Religionsgemeinschaft in Baden, 1809-2009", Ostfildern, 2009, no. 6.


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