Gallery of Seder Plates

Gallery of Seder plates

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Seder plate, Spain, before the expulsion of the Jews, circa 1480

This Seder plate is the earliest known in the world, and is one of the few ritual objects which survived the expulsion from Spain until today. The text in the center lists some of the central elements of the holiday: Seder, Passover, matzah and maror. From the spelling mistakes in some of the words many surmise that the artisan wasn’t Jewish.

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Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Seder Plate, Beginning of 20th Century

Silver Seder plate embossed and engraved with foliage and geometrical forms. The border of the plate includes the verses: "שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל מַצֹּת" (for seven days you shall eat matzah) and "לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם" (next year in Jerusalem).

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Old Yishuv Court Museum Collection

Seder Plate, Israel, 1960s

Copper plate illustrated with vine leaves. The names of the symbolic Seder foods serve as a decorative feature surrounding the plate.

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Seder Plate, Bezalel Academy, Beginning of 20th Century

Seder plate produced by the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. In the center of the plate is the text of the “Ma Nishtana” (the Four Questions) from the Haggadah. Surrounding the text are five indentations as receptacles for the symbolic Seder foods. The external border comprises illustrations of biblical scenes (the hard labor in Egypt, the exodus from Egypt, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and others).

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Old Yishuv Court Museum Collection

Porcelain Passover Seder Plate, England, 20th Century

The Seder plate set includes six designated indentations painted with depictions of the symbolic Seder foods and vignettes of the Ten Plagues. It is inscribed in Hebrew and English with a list of the fifteen parts of the Seder meal, the “Four Questions,” and the names of the symbolic foods. Note that instead of a place for horseradish there is a place for salt water with an illustration of the sea. Artist: Eric Tunstall

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The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art, UC Berkley License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Seder Plate, Moncalvo, Italy, 17th Century

Large plate made out of hammered copper with intricate designs including foliage, biblical figures, and biblical scenes. In the center of the plate are the simanim, the list of the stages of the Seder. The four figures depicted are Moses, Aaron, King David, and King Solomon. Each figure appears with a representative object: the tablets of the Ten Commandments, a ritual tool used by the priests, a harp, and a king’s scepter. The biblical scenes depicted are the sacrifice of Isaac and Solomon’s judgement.

Josepha Vitale HaCohen with the generosity of the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art (ON 0024)

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Seder Plate, United States, 20th Century

Elliptical copper Seder plate with engraved calligraphy of the names of the symbolic Seder foods. In the center are the words from the Haggadah “הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא” (this is the bread of affliction). The plate stands on three legs decorated with the word matzah (מצה). Artist: Ismar David, a calligrapher and graphic artist known for designing the well-known Hebrew font type David.

Center for Jewish History, New York

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Seder Plate, United States, 20th Century

Tower Seder plate made out of a combination of brass, steel, and glass upon which the simanim (the list of the stages of the Seder) are written. Artist: Gary Rosenthal

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Seder Plate, Italy

Porcelain Seder plate illustrated with biblical scenes and the seven species.

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art, UC Berkley Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0