Passover Seder Plate by David Heinz Gumbel – "Chad Gadya" – Jerusalem, 1940s

Passover Seder Plate by David Heinz Gumbel – "Chad Gadya" – Jerusalem, 1940s
A Passover Seder plate by David Heinz Gumbel, decorated with scenes from the piyyut "Chad Gadya". Jerusalem, [ca. 1940s].
Copper; hammered, raised and engraved.
A large, flat plate. Wide rim, engraved with the Hebrew words "Chad Gadya" in a traditional font; followed by scenes from the piyyut, starting with the kid and ending with the Angel of Death lying dead. Beside each scene, the corresponding quote from the piyyut appears in raised letters, in the modern, functional font identified with Gumbel's works in particular and New Bezalel artists in general. The plate is signed on verso: "G / Jerusalem" (Hebrew).
David Heinz Gumbel (1906-1992) was born in Sinsheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. His family was among the pioneers of local modern industry; his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all industrialists. Gumbel grew up in nearby Heilbronn which was a center of silverware industry, and worked at the Bruckmann & Söhne silverware factory. At the age of 21 he moved to Berlin to study silversmithing at the Kunstgewerbe Schule school of art. After graduating, he returned to Heilbronn and started producing modern silverware at his father's factory, Gumbel & Co. His handmade silverware was characterized by use of highly polished silver combined with additional materials, clearly belonging to the Bauhaus and other parallel schools. In 1936, as the situation of the Jews of Germany took a turn for the worse, Gumbel immigrated to Palestine, settled in Jerusalem and for a while worked at the silverware workshop of silversmith Emmy Roth, of the first silversmiths to make modern Judaica. After several months, he started teaching metal and Jewelry design at the New Bezalel and in 1942 opened his own workshop, in which he spent decades making Judaica, dinnerware and jewelry. In 1955, he retired from Bezalel, his colleague Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert following suit a year later; however, the visual language they had created and their unique style continued to influence the works of students for many more years.
Gumbel, like other Bezalel artists, adopted the use of Hebrew letters in Judaica in order to emphasize the Jewish and national nature of his work; however, unlike others, he perceived the verses and words he added to his works of art as a form of decoration rather than a meaningful, central part of the object.
Diameter: 42.5 cm. Good condition. Bends. Minor welding repairs. Slight corrosion. Stains.
Literature: Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age, by Sharon Weiser-Ferguson. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 2012.