UNIQUE PAINTED COTTON PASSOVER BANNER. Germany, mid-19th century.

From the top: Two lions flank empty crowned medallion, the whole framed by flowering branches. Below, Order of the Seder inscribed in patterned letters. Below, flowering branches top double handled urn beneath labelled depiction of Pascal lamb. Below, blessing recited before eating Matzah; below, Adam and Eve holding fruit stand beneath Tree of Knowledge, flanked by animals including serpent; below, appropriate Hebrew verse (Genesis 3:6.) At top, two blue silk ribbon hanging loops sewn from back. H: 1010mm. Worn.

This charming example of folk art is richly colored; the spelling mistakes in the Biblical quotation point to its humble origins. The artist was clearly more focused on painting than sewing, which explains the unfinished edges. There is a tradition that the consumption of Matzah on Passover atones for the sin in the Garden of Eden - hence the depiction of Adam and Eve. Accretions from candles indicate that the banner lay flat at one time and probably served as a centre-piece laying across a dining table . For a similar banner in the collection of the Jewish Museum, New York , see The Fabric of Jewish Life (1977) No. 228, p. 25. Grateful thanks to Dr. Judith Eisenberg, textile conservator, for her research assistance