Seder Plate from Pre-Expulsion Spain

This plate, the earliest known Seder plate in existence, belongs to a small group of Jewish ceremonial objects that survived the expulsion from Spain. The inscription in the center refers to the main components of the festival: pesah (Paschal lamb), matzah, maror (bitter herbs), and seder. The errors in the Hebrew inscription may be the result of its having been copied by a non-Jewish artist who was unfamiliar with Hebrew letters.

Credit: Gift of Jakob Michael, New York, in memory of his wife, Erna Sondheimer Michael