This fine brass plate is a Passover Seder plate, a special plate used to contain symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder, the feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The circular plate is arranged in concentric tiers, with a central circular roundel containing Hebrew script surrounded by five ovoid hollows, with each hollow separated by a triangular cartouche containing further Hebrew script (each cartouche being a label to indicate which symbolic food is to be contained within each hollow). The plate is encompassed by a circular band of five cartouches containing bas relief figurative processional scenes, each panel alternating with a circular roundel containing Hebrew descriptions of the scenes.
The top of the plate contains two Hebrew inscriptions, the left reading ‘Jerusalem’ and the right ‘Bezalel’, for the important Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. The reverse of the plate is marked with an embossed label reading ‘Made in Palestine’.