North African ceramic fruit bowl for Tu Bishvat

This vessel presented the fruits consumed during Tu Bishvat, the 'new year of the trees' which marks in the Jewish calendar the awakening of vegetation and the renewal of the agricultural cycle. The custom, developed notably under the influence of the Kabbalah of Safed, involves a ritual meal at which fruits are consumed, particularly those of the seven species for which the Land of Israel is praised. In North Africa, this type of glazed ceramic bowl was used to present these fruits during the domestic celebration. As an object linked to the connection with the Land of Israel, it illustrates the agricultural and symbolic dimension of this minor festival in Maghrebi Judaism.