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 35:

Two Manuscript Volumes – Works of Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano – Written During His Lifetime – Italy, 16th/17th ...

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Auction took place on Jan 21, 2025 at Kedem
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Two Manuscript Volumes – Works of Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano – Written During His Lifetime – Italy, 16th/17th Century

Two manuscript volumes, works of kabbalist R. Menachem Azariah (Rama) of Fano. [Italy, ca. late 16th or early 17th century].
The present volumes contain three works by R. Menachem Azariah, the Rama of Fano. The first volume contains Maamar HaNefesh and Maamar Maayan Ganim, and the second volume contains Maamar Meah Kesitah.
Scribal writing, in Italian script. In several places, marginal glosses by another, unidentified writer.
The Rama authored his works in several recensions, in each one revising the works in a different way, reordering their contents and dividing them differently. Over the course of this complicated editorial process, the recensions were copied several times by his disciples (see: R. Yosef Avivi, Kabbalistic Writings of the Rama of Fano, Sefunot, XIX, pp. 347 ff. [Hebrew]). The present item is one of those recensions originating from his circle, which calls for comparison with the other recensions. Maamar HaNefesh appears here in an early recension which also includes Maamar Olam Katan, which was later separated into its own chapter by the Rama (see: Avivi, ibid., p. 350).
The present manuscripts were copied in the Rama's lifetime, apparently by a disciple of his, as each volume contains the signature of censor Camilo Jaghel, dated 1619, before the Rama's passing in 1620.
In volume I on leaf 76, at the end of Maamar HaNefesh – concluding poem by "the wise poet R. Meshulam Sulam" (beginning "Nodeh LeEl Baruch"; this poem appears at the end of Olam Katan by the Rama of Fano, printed in Taalumot Chochmah by Yashar Delmedigo, Hanau 1629).


Two volumes. Volume I (Maamar HaNefesh and Maamar Maayan Ganim): 218 leaves (the foliation in pencil is 219, mistakenly skipping a number); Volume II (Maamar Meah Kesitah): 159 leaves. Varying condition of volumes, good-fair. Stains, including dampstains. In volume II, dark stains and traces of mold. Open tears to several leaves in second volume, affecting text, repaired with paper filling. New bindings, incorporating portions of original bindings.


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