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A Seder Plate for Every Personality

From hipster to eco-friendly to Palm Beach matriarch, we’ve got you covered

by
Danielle Crittenden Frum
April 14, 2014
Victor Seder Plate by Studio Vons. (The Jewish Museum)
Victor Seder Plate by Studio Vons. (The Jewish Museum)

Lena Dunham recently tweeted out to her 1.4 million Twitter followers the link to lifelong friend Isabel Halley’s stylish new ceramic seder plate ($424, The Jewish Museum), declaring it an item “NO ONE CAN PASSOVER.”

It’s true that Halley’s tasteful shimmering platter, with its pinched, gold-rimmed bowls, stands out from so many of its gaudy Passover cousins. But it’s not alone—there are now beautiful seder plates to suit every style and taste, from urban hipster to Palm Beach matriarch. Some are being produced by artisans in Israel. A few fine porcelain companies offer slender Judaica lines. The Jewish Museum’s online store is valuable holiday resource, offering a refined curation of objects to suit diverse budgets and personality types.

Here’s a round-up of some of my favorites, from luxe to recession-conscious.

If you’re having David Geffen to your Seder…

Jerusalem silversmith Benny Heifetz works in solid silver: this contemporary set, with an ebonized wood platter,would look equally comfortable atop the billionaire’s table in Malibu or Manhattan ($14,000, bennyheifetz.com).

But if it’s Leonard Lauder you’re trying to impress…

The cosmetics heir is a longtime patron of the Whitney and a lover of Cubism. He might like American artist Amy Klein Rechert’s Raised Limestone Seder Plate, a deconstructed rendering of the Passover story in stone and polished brass [$3,600, Amy Reichert Klein].

If you’re channeling your inner steampunk…

You better have some serious melted-down coin available, unless you can craft the Uncommon Seder Plate by Winged Camel yourself. This handmade metal, silver, and brass series of connected dioramas, made by metalworkers Malcolm and Mary Ann Owen, also tells the story of Passover, in this case through “its unique use of 32 handmade sterling silver figurines set within the plate’s design.” ($1,250, The Jewish Museum).

For the Palm Beach matriarch…

It’s hard to go wrong with these traditional choices, either Bernardeau’s austere white bone china Seder plate from its “Louvre” series ($409 for plate and set of six mini-plates, Bloomingdales), or Herend’s Footed Seder Plate, which comes in two fanciful patterns ($660, HerendUSA).

“I just want something simple and modern…”

Tel-Aviv based artist and metalsmith Laura Cowan’s popular “Moon Seder Plate,”—in polished aluminum, inspired by craters on the moon’s surface—will fit in with any contemporary decor and table setting ($290, lauracowan.com).

For the Dwell reader…

This white Corian Seder Plate by S2BH will look subtle but amazing on your Saarinen carrera-topped tulip table surrounded by your collection of Wegner “Wishbone” chairs. Architects Steve Buetow and Scott Helmes designed this smooth, gently cupped platter, with a textured undersurface, out of Corian for its “durable and food safe qualities, as well as its ability to be molded into elegant forms” ($288, The Jewish Museum).

For the Happy Hipster…

It may suck that your job at an online start-up won’t allow you time off to go home for Passover. That’s okay—you and some other friends are going to pull a seder together at Shoshanna’s art space slash workshop slash mattress-on-the-floor loft, with Manischewitz Martinis and take-out. Take this cool retro-style “Victor” plate by Israeli artist Yael Vons Yarzin with you, although you may have to ask your parents to put it on their credit card ($325, The Jewish Museum).

For The Eco-Sensitive…

If your seder egg will be from a cage-free, grain-fed chicken grown without antibiotics, you’ll appreciate this teak seder plate—not just because it’s made by southeast Asian company Bahari from “ecologically friendly … locally sourced … sustainable teak wood” but because you can recycle it for everyday use. Great for mezzas, dips, and even jewelry when it’s not on Passover duty. ($125, The Jewish Museum).

Danielle Crittenden Frum is a contributing editor at Huffington Post and co-author, with Anne Applebaum, of From a Polish Country House Kitchen: 90 Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food. Follow her on Twitter @MyJewishTable.