Golden Haggadah

Golden Haggadah, around 1320, British Library, London. A Hebrew book of the Passover service made in Catalonia, probably in or near Barcelona, and famous for the gleaming gold leaf behind each of its miniatures. This detail is a domestic one, and all the more charming for it: a household gets ready for Passover. The father holds up a candle to search for any last crumbs of leavened bread, a child holds out a bowl, and the women clean, one reaching up to the rafters with a long brush while another bends to sweep the floor.