Hagadah shel Pesach - The Institution of Passover

(HAGADAH).

Vital Sakharam Agnihotry

Poona

1874

Prepared by the Brothers Moses Jacob and Aaron Daniel Talkar. Hebrew and Marathi on facing pages. Celebrated illustrations depicting local Bene Israel custom on final 9 pages. This copy apparently with an extended Marathi introduction. With: Correspondence from India concerning the sale of this particular copy

Yudlov 1437; Yaari 1077

Unlike the earlier Bombay Hagadah (1846) whose “illustrations were still closely linked to their Amsterdam prototypes, those in the Poona Hagadah have managed to drift into a sphere of their own. Even as they retain the basic pattern, they are now palpably Indian in tone and detail.” (Yerushalmi 107-10). Particularly distinct is the illustration depicting the preparation and baking of the Matzoth for Passover. The upper panel shows the men of the Bene-Israel community, the lower panel their female counterparts. Both are in distinctive native dress and sitting in the classic Indian squatting, or Lotus position. See Israel Museum Catalogue, The Jews of India (1995), p. 25