Miriam Cup

Ann Sperry (NY 1950-2008 NY)
USA, 1997
Welded and painted steel, h. 11 x w. 6 x d 7 in.
Cincinnati Skirball Museum, museum purchase with funds provided by Skirball Museum docents, 18.75

The spring festival of Passover commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt. During Passover,
Jews are reminded of the struggles they endured when they were slaves in Egypt. The rituals
associated with the festival are rich in meaning and have helped to convey the Passover story to
adults and children alike for generations.

Not all Passover rituals have a long history. One such ritual that has gained popularity in the
Reform movement over the past several decades has been the placing of a Miriam’s cup on the
festival table next to the cup of Elijah. Seder, meaning order, is the Passover home service held
on the first and second nights of the festival. The ritual of placing a Miriam’s cup on the Seder

table was started in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1980s. The cup is filled with water to represent
Miriam’s well, the moveable well that followed the Israelites throughout their desert wandering
and provided them with fresh water. The cup can be used in many ways during the Passover
Seder. It can be raised at the beginning of the Seder to represent Miriam’s role of keeping watch
over the baby Moses in the Nile River, which begins the Exodus story. Miriam also led the
women in song as they escaped the Egyptians through the parted Reed Sea.It can also be seen as
a symbol of inclusiveness, and in particular, the recognition of the important role that women
have played throughout the long history of the Jewish people.

Sculptor and feminist Ann Sperry manipulated welded steel to create biomorphic loops
supporting the large cup basin. The winding design ends in a budlike shape that may represent
the arrival of spring, the season in which Passover falls each year. Sperry’s steel sculptures
transformed toughness into softness, femininity, and beauty. Her work can be found in the
collections of the Storm King Arts Center, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, and the
Skirball Cultural Center. Site-specific sculptures are installed in Seattle, Boston, and Aspen.