Tiered Seder Set

Jews all over the world hold a home service called a "seder" on the first night of Passover, and those outside the Land of Israel repeat the seder on the second night. All tell the story of the Exodus and eat symbolic foods that recall the bitterness of bondage and the haste with which the ancient Israelites began their flight to freedom. This unique seder set combines wooden trays for matzah, the unleavened bread, with wooden holders for the other symbolic foods and a pedestal for the wine cup that is always filled for the prophet Elijah, herald of the messiah.
Although there are other nineteenth-century examples of tiered seder sets, none are similar to this one. Most are refined silver works made in Germany or Austria by trained silversmiths or are imitations in base metals. They lack the robust energy that is conveyed by this piece, with its rampant lions that stand, mouths agape, holding cartouches bearing the blessings recited over the symbolic foods. The curvature of the lions' bodies and their notched paws are echoed in the shapes of the grillwork surrounding the wooden trays. Similar brasswork appears on Eastern European Hanukkah lamps of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Rampant lions often decorate the backplates of these lamps, while decorative grillwork sometimes forms an apron panel in front of the lights and on the sides. The maker of the Danzig seder set was familiar with the artistic traditions of the Hanukkah lamp. In this work, he wed familiar forms to new materials, creating a dynamic composition that rises from the dark wooden base through the open pattern on the middle zone, to the triumphant lions; the whole is crowned by the base for Elijah's cup, which would have added a further vertical accent.