Sarajevo Haggadah, Medieval illuminated manuscript at National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated manuscript at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, made from calfskin and containing Hebrew texts. The pages include painted miniatures showing episodes from the first books of the Hebrew Bible.
The book was created around the mid-14th century in Barcelona and left Spain after the expulsion of Jews by the Catholic Monarchs. The manuscript reached Sarajevo at the end of the 19th century and survived two world wars through the actions of local museum staff.
This manuscript serves during Passover to read the Haggadah and displays Torah scenes through painted pages. The paintings connect Sephardic customs with elements of Gothic book art from medieval Spain.
The manuscript is kept in a vault room at the National Museum with controlled conditions and is not always accessible to visitors. Anyone wishing to see it should ask the museum in advance when the object is on display.
Researchers found salt stains and insect remains between the pages during examination, pointing to the manuscript's changing journey through centuries. These traces give clues about the places and conditions under which the book was kept.
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