Printed Passover cloth, with dedicatory inscription to Mazal Tov Ezra of Calcutta. Designed by: Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe. [Bombay, India, ca. 1890].
Printed in gold ink on silk-satin fabric.
Unique cloth, gifted to Mazal Tov Ezra (née Sassoon) – wife of Elias David Yosef Ezra, leader of the Jewish-Baghdadi community in Calcutta – possibly even designed and printed exclusively in her honor.
Rectangular cloth, intended for covering the Seder plate on Passover, in accordance with the custom of Jews from Iraq and the surroundings. The blessing "May you merit many years…" is printed at the top. The center of the cloth is occupied by a large illustration of a Seder plate; each item on the plate is captioned with its name and the kabbalistic sefirah related to it (according to the Arizal); above the illustration is the title "Seder HaKe'arah" with the remaining three sefirot, flanked by two fish (reminiscent of the fish seen on illustrated 19th century ketubot from Calcutta). Various texts surround the Seder plate: the Seder steps, blessings for Passover eve, Psalm 67 (framed), the counting of the Omer and other texts, both in Hebrew and Aramaic. Each text is set in a polygonal frame (deltoid or hexagon). Ha Lachma Anya and Ma Nishtana are printed with Iraqi Judeo-Arabic translation. The name of the cloth designer is printed in two frames under the Seder plate. Dedication in lower margin: "In honor of Sra. Mazal Tov Elia David Yosef Ezra".
The recipient of the cloth, Mazal Tov (Mozelle) Ezra (1853-1922) was the daughter of Sir Albert (Abdullah) David Sassoon (and granddaughter of the founder of the dynasty, David Sassoon). She was the wife of Elia (Elias) David Yosef Ezra, leader and prominent member of the Iraqi community in Calcutta (Kolkata); Elias Ezra was known as a philanthropist who donated significantly to Jewish educational institutions and in 1884, founded the Magen David synagogue in Calcutta in memory of his father. After her husband's passing in 1886, Mazal Tov founded the Ezra hospital in Calcutta (inaugurated in 1887), which is active until this day as part of the medical college in the city. The son of Mazal Tov and Elias was Sir Elias Ezra – also an important figure in the Jewish-Baghdadi community in Calcutta – who later married Rachel Sassoon (daughter of Solomon David and Flora Sassoon).
The designer of the present cloth, Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe, published and printed at least three books in Bombay in 1886-1887; likewise, his signature appears on a similar cloth printed in Bombay in 1890, with blessings and illustrations for Rosh Hashanah; the latter cloth was printed on light-colored fabric, and also features the blessing "May you merit many years…" at the top. Its texts are similarly set in polygonal frames. An inscription on that cloth reads: "This kerchief was designed by the scribe Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe, here in Bombay 1890" (see: Nehardea, Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, no. 31, 2010, p. 7).

64.5X54.5 cm. Overall good condition. Some tears and defects, slightly affecting text. Mounted on a sheet of fabric (new) for exhibition and preservation.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 001.013.003.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 37668.