Lot 4
Miniature Esther Scroll with Color Illustrations – Italy, Early 19th Century
Miniature Esther scroll, with color opening illustrations. Italy, [early 19th century].
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned.
Miniature Esther scroll, written in Sephardic-Italian script on three parchment membranes, 19 columns, 22 lines per column. "HaMelech" scroll – most columns begin with the word "HaMelech"; letters forming G-d's name and other letters emphasized in several places. Wooden roller. Small parchment leaf enclosed, with the blessings for the megillah reading.
Opening panel with three color illustrations. Two of them depict structures – (European style) houses and towers with turrets; the middle illustration depicts Haman leading Mordechai on a horse, with the caption "So shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor". Remnants of yellowish-green pillars and frames surround each column of the scroll (some are exceedingly faded), and remnants of a large, floral decoration after the final column.
Height of parchment: 7 cm. Roller: 20 cm. Leaf of blessings: 7.5X6.5 cm. Overall fair-good condition. Stains and fading of paint to scroll; large tears to parchment between columns 13-14. Scroll detached from roller. Minor chip to roller. Stains to leaf of blessings.
