The Bird's Head Haggada of the Bezalel National Art Museum in Jerusalem
The Bird’s Head manuscript, the earliest surviving illustrated Ashkenazi Haggada, is named for the figures drawn with birds' heads on human forms. These composite creatures are most probably griffins. Many scholars believe the use of imaginary creatures is a concession to a rabbinic prohibition against Jewish image making. The conical "Jewish hat” worn by adult males was mandatory attire for German Jews in the Middle Ages.