Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Unsold
Large Esther scroll, with decorated leaf of blessings for the Megillah reading. Italy, [18th century].
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Large Esther scroll, written in Sephardic-Italian script on five parchment membranes, 17 columns, 24 lines per column. First membrane and leaf of blessings with decorative right edges. Elongated and decorated Lamed on top lines. Omitted words completed in a different hand. With wooden roller.
Enclosed: a large parchment leaf with the blessings for the megillah reading and the piyyut "Korei Megillah" by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is set in an architectural frame composed of three arches resting on four pillars, each bearing a flower-filled vase. A laurel-wreathed head surmounts each arch. Initial words of blessings and piyyut in large, ornamental, gilt letters; some of the ornaments surrounding the text (leaves and branches) were colored in yellow and gold, but most were not filled-in and are only outlined (in pencil).
Height of parchment: 32 cm. Roller: 52 cm. Leaf of blessings: 70X32.5 cm. Overall fair-good condition. Tears, stains and creases to leaf of blessings (long marginal tear). Minor stains and blemishes to scroll. Lacking upper part of roller; some chipping.
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Large Esther scroll, written in Sephardic-Italian script on five parchment membranes, 17 columns, 24 lines per column. First membrane and leaf of blessings with decorative right edges. Elongated and decorated Lamed on top lines. Omitted words completed in a different hand. With wooden roller.
Enclosed: a large parchment leaf with the blessings for the megillah reading and the piyyut "Korei Megillah" by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is set in an architectural frame composed of three arches resting on four pillars, each bearing a flower-filled vase. A laurel-wreathed head surmounts each arch. Initial words of blessings and piyyut in large, ornamental, gilt letters; some of the ornaments surrounding the text (leaves and branches) were colored in yellow and gold, but most were not filled-in and are only outlined (in pencil).
Height of parchment: 32 cm. Roller: 52 cm. Leaf of blessings: 70X32.5 cm. Overall fair-good condition. Tears, stains and creases to leaf of blessings (long marginal tear). Minor stains and blemishes to scroll. Lacking upper part of roller; some chipping.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $2,750
Including buyer's premium
Miniature Esther scroll, with decorated leaf of blessings for the Megillah reading. Italy, [18th century].
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Miniature Esther scroll, written in Italian script on six thin, light-colored parchment membranes, 38 columns, 15 lines per column. First membrane with decorative right edge. Wooden roller with an ornamental tiered finial.
Enclosed: a parchment leaf with the blessings for the Megillah reading and the Korei Megillah piyyut by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is arranged in six columns, separated by vases bearing large bouquets, resting on ornate pillars; each column of text is surrounded by a foliate and floral arch-shaped ornamental motif. The text and ornaments are set in a green rectangular frame.
Height of parchment: 9 cm. Roller: 28 cm. Leaf of blessings: 39X9 cm. Overall good condition. Stains and creases to leaf of blessings. Minor stains and tears to scroll. Long tear to end of scroll (reinforced with paper on verso). Later corrections to text.
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Miniature Esther scroll, written in Italian script on six thin, light-colored parchment membranes, 38 columns, 15 lines per column. First membrane with decorative right edge. Wooden roller with an ornamental tiered finial.
Enclosed: a parchment leaf with the blessings for the Megillah reading and the Korei Megillah piyyut by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is arranged in six columns, separated by vases bearing large bouquets, resting on ornate pillars; each column of text is surrounded by a foliate and floral arch-shaped ornamental motif. The text and ornaments are set in a green rectangular frame.
Height of parchment: 9 cm. Roller: 28 cm. Leaf of blessings: 39X9 cm. Overall good condition. Stains and creases to leaf of blessings. Minor stains and tears to scroll. Long tear to end of scroll (reinforced with paper on verso). Later corrections to text.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $40,000
Sold for: $212,500
Including buyer's premium
Large Esther scroll, with elaborate leaf of the blessings for the Megillah reading, decorated in bright colors; handwritten by the young girl Luna daughter of Yehuda Ambron. Presumably Rome, Italy, 1767.
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Large Esther scroll, written in Sephardic-Italian script on two parchment membranes, 21 columns, 19 lines per column. First membrane with decorative right edge; first column preceded by a large colorful floral illustration. The initial word "Vayehi" is written in large, ornamental letters. The scroll is mounted on a wooden roller with a tiered finial.
Large, elaborately decorated parchment leaf enclosed, with the blessings for the Megillah reading and the piyyut "Korei Megillah" by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is set in an architectural frame comprising four marble arches. The arches are decorated with branches and flowers, and rest upon five stylized marble pillars, the whole topped by an illustration depicting Haman leading Mordechai on the horse, preceded by two trumpet-blowing figures and followed by four additional figures. Two additional illustrations appear at the foot of the leaf: one depicting Haman hanging on a pole flanked by two figures, and a second depicting three other figures. The upper illustration is flanked by two heraldic shields featuring a lion and crescent – the coat-of-arms of the Ambron family. The initial words of the blessings and piyyut are inscribed in large, ornamental letters.
A colophon below the liturgical text reads: " With the help of G-d, the writing of these blessings with the scroll was completed, on 10th Adar I 1767... [by] the modest and pleasant girl, Luna, daughter of the honorable and wealthy Yehuda Ambron, in the 14th year of her life... May we merit to see miracles and wonders speedily in our times...".
The colophon attests that the scroll and the blessings recited prior to the Megillah were copied by the young girl Luna Ambron. Of the manuscripts written by women, only two Scrolls of Esther are known, both originating in Italy. A.M. Habermann, in his article "Nashim Maatikot" (Kiryat Sefer XIII [Nissan 1936], pp. 114-120), lists a Scroll of Esther written by Anna, daughter of David Giuseppe Piperno (1840). Another, earlier Scroll of Esther, written by Estellina, daughter of Menachem of Venice in 1564, is found in the Bragisnky Collection (S102).
The wedding of Luna daughter of Yehuda (Leone) Ambron with Yaakov David son of Mordechai (Angelo) Di Segni was celebrated in Livorno on 14th Nissan 1776, and her ketubah is documented in the book Le Ketubbòt della famiglia Ambron by Lionella Viterbo Neppi Modona (Florence, 2016).
Height of parchment: 25.5 cm. Roller: 40 cm. Leaf of blessings: 57X26 cm. Overall good condition. Minor blemishes, creases and tears to leaf of blessings. Minor stains and blemishes to scroll. Lacking lower part of roller.
Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.
Large Esther scroll, written in Sephardic-Italian script on two parchment membranes, 21 columns, 19 lines per column. First membrane with decorative right edge; first column preceded by a large colorful floral illustration. The initial word "Vayehi" is written in large, ornamental letters. The scroll is mounted on a wooden roller with a tiered finial.
Large, elaborately decorated parchment leaf enclosed, with the blessings for the Megillah reading and the piyyut "Korei Megillah" by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. The text is set in an architectural frame comprising four marble arches. The arches are decorated with branches and flowers, and rest upon five stylized marble pillars, the whole topped by an illustration depicting Haman leading Mordechai on the horse, preceded by two trumpet-blowing figures and followed by four additional figures. Two additional illustrations appear at the foot of the leaf: one depicting Haman hanging on a pole flanked by two figures, and a second depicting three other figures. The upper illustration is flanked by two heraldic shields featuring a lion and crescent – the coat-of-arms of the Ambron family. The initial words of the blessings and piyyut are inscribed in large, ornamental letters.
A colophon below the liturgical text reads: " With the help of G-d, the writing of these blessings with the scroll was completed, on 10th Adar I 1767... [by] the modest and pleasant girl, Luna, daughter of the honorable and wealthy Yehuda Ambron, in the 14th year of her life... May we merit to see miracles and wonders speedily in our times...".
The colophon attests that the scroll and the blessings recited prior to the Megillah were copied by the young girl Luna Ambron. Of the manuscripts written by women, only two Scrolls of Esther are known, both originating in Italy. A.M. Habermann, in his article "Nashim Maatikot" (Kiryat Sefer XIII [Nissan 1936], pp. 114-120), lists a Scroll of Esther written by Anna, daughter of David Giuseppe Piperno (1840). Another, earlier Scroll of Esther, written by Estellina, daughter of Menachem of Venice in 1564, is found in the Bragisnky Collection (S102).
The wedding of Luna daughter of Yehuda (Leone) Ambron with Yaakov David son of Mordechai (Angelo) Di Segni was celebrated in Livorno on 14th Nissan 1776, and her ketubah is documented in the book Le Ketubbòt della famiglia Ambron by Lionella Viterbo Neppi Modona (Florence, 2016).
Height of parchment: 25.5 cm. Roller: 40 cm. Leaf of blessings: 57X26 cm. Overall good condition. Minor blemishes, creases and tears to leaf of blessings. Minor stains and blemishes to scroll. Lacking lower part of roller.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $10,000
Including buyer's premium
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.
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.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Sold for: $45,000
Including buyer's premium
Illustrated Esther scroll, with the coat of arms of the Henriques-Pimentel family. [The Netherlands, late 18th or early 19th century].
Ink on parchment; wood, turned.
5 membranes, 27 columns, 19 lines per column; Sephardic script. Wooden roller with decorative finial. The text of the megillah is framed in engraving-like hand-drawn borders. The columns are separated by architectural pillars with scrolling tendrils and leaves. At the foot of each column, a miniature narrative scene from the Book of Esther, set in a decorative cartouche. Some of the scenes appear to be inspired by the illustrations decorating the engraved Megillah printed in Venice (designed by Griselini, first half of the 18th century).
Water jugs are depicted on the pillar pedestals and above the text columns. This motif generally testified to the family's pedigree as Levites. In this case, the water jug motif, together with a large part of the decorative elements surrounding it, was most likely borrowed from book title pages (a very similar decoration is found in books printed by Naftali Hertz Levi Rofe, active in Amsterdam in 1726-1766).
On the first and last membranes, coat of arms of the Spanish Pimentel noble family, adopted by the Henriques Pimentel family (descendants of the family) as their own coat of arms, with the permit of the King of Spain. The patriarch of the Henriques Pimentel family, Manuel-Yitzchak Henriques-Pimentel (b. 1657) immigrated with his parents as a young boy from Malaga, Spain to Amsterdam, where he returned to openly practicing Judaism.
Height of parchment: approx. 20 cm. Height of roller: approx. 38 cm. Good condition. Stains to parchment. Minor worming. First membrane trimmed close to decorative border. Chips and blemishes to roller.
Ink on parchment; wood, turned.
5 membranes, 27 columns, 19 lines per column; Sephardic script. Wooden roller with decorative finial. The text of the megillah is framed in engraving-like hand-drawn borders. The columns are separated by architectural pillars with scrolling tendrils and leaves. At the foot of each column, a miniature narrative scene from the Book of Esther, set in a decorative cartouche. Some of the scenes appear to be inspired by the illustrations decorating the engraved Megillah printed in Venice (designed by Griselini, first half of the 18th century).
Water jugs are depicted on the pillar pedestals and above the text columns. This motif generally testified to the family's pedigree as Levites. In this case, the water jug motif, together with a large part of the decorative elements surrounding it, was most likely borrowed from book title pages (a very similar decoration is found in books printed by Naftali Hertz Levi Rofe, active in Amsterdam in 1726-1766).
On the first and last membranes, coat of arms of the Spanish Pimentel noble family, adopted by the Henriques Pimentel family (descendants of the family) as their own coat of arms, with the permit of the King of Spain. The patriarch of the Henriques Pimentel family, Manuel-Yitzchak Henriques-Pimentel (b. 1657) immigrated with his parents as a young boy from Malaga, Spain to Amsterdam, where he returned to openly practicing Judaism.
Height of parchment: approx. 20 cm. Height of roller: approx. 38 cm. Good condition. Stains to parchment. Minor worming. First membrane trimmed close to decorative border. Chips and blemishes to roller.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $4,750
Including buyer's premium
Miniature Esther scroll fitted in an ornate silver case. Iraq, Ottoman Empire, [late 19th century or early 20th century].
Ink on parchment; silver, cast, pierced and engraved.
The scroll is written in neat Sephardic scribal script, on thin, light-colored parchment, 32 columns, 12 lines per column.
Fitted in an octagonal silver case, with foliate patterns. Surmounted by a dome, topped with an orange (coral lookalike) bead. Angled, ornamented handle.
Height of parchment: 5 cm. Case: 6.5 cm (including handle: 20 cm). Overall good condition. Minor tears. Minor corrections to text.
Reference:
Jewish Life in Art and Tradition, From the Collection of the Sir Isaac and Lady Edith Wolfson Museum, Hechal Shlomo, Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Hechal Shlomo, 1980, pp. 168-169.
Ink on parchment; silver, cast, pierced and engraved.
The scroll is written in neat Sephardic scribal script, on thin, light-colored parchment, 32 columns, 12 lines per column.
Fitted in an octagonal silver case, with foliate patterns. Surmounted by a dome, topped with an orange (coral lookalike) bead. Angled, ornamented handle.
Height of parchment: 5 cm. Case: 6.5 cm (including handle: 20 cm). Overall good condition. Minor tears. Minor corrections to text.
Reference:
Jewish Life in Art and Tradition, From the Collection of the Sir Isaac and Lady Edith Wolfson Museum, Hechal Shlomo, Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Hechal Shlomo, 1980, pp. 168-169.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Sold for: $5,250
Including buyer's premium
Parchment scroll – Haftarot for the weekly Torah portions. [Central Europe, ca. 18th century].
Stam script, with vocalization and cantillation marks (headings in Rashi script). Haftarot for the weekly Torah portions. Lacking end of the scroll (ends in the middle of the Haftarah of Haazinu). Initial panels in neat calligraphic script.
Height of parchment: approx. 57 cm. Fair condition. Many stains. Damage, wear and creases. Lacking end. Two membranes detached from one another – scroll split in two.
Stam script, with vocalization and cantillation marks (headings in Rashi script). Haftarot for the weekly Torah portions. Lacking end of the scroll (ends in the middle of the Haftarah of Haazinu). Initial panels in neat calligraphic script.
Height of parchment: approx. 57 cm. Fair condition. Many stains. Damage, wear and creases. Lacking end. Two membranes detached from one another – scroll split in two.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue
Auction 83 - Part I - Rare and Important Items
November 23, 2021
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Megillat Yechezkel on parchment – order of prayers recited at the gravesite of prophet Yechezkel in Iraq. [Iraq, ca. early 20th century].
Sephardic stam script, on soft, brown gevil, mounted on a carved, wooden roller.
Iraqi Jews customarily read from such scrolls when praying at the gravesite of prophet Yechezkel in the Al Kifl village (which they referred to as "the village of our master, prophet Yechezkel"), during the pilgrimage on Shavuot and in the month of Elul.
The tomb of prophet Yechezkel was considered holy by Jews of Iraq and neighboring countries, and for hundreds of years was a focal point for pilgrimage. R. Binyamin of Tudela, who visited the site in 1170 writes: "...that place is deemed holy by the Jewish people until this day; people come from afar to pray and celebrate there between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; the exilarch and yeshiva deans travel from Baghdad...". In 1180, R. Petachiah of Regensburg visited the site and likewise described the mass pilgrimage and miracles which took place on that occasion: "...on Sukkot, people come from all countries, and the entrance widens and heightens on its own to the extent camels can enter; some sixty thousand or eighty thousand Jews convene there, apart from the Muslims, and build Sukkot in the courtyard. The entrance later returns to its original size and everyone witnesses it..." (for more information about the Tomb of Yechezkel, the customs surrounding it and its mentions over the years, see: Avraham ben Yaakov, Kevarim Kedoshim BeBavel, Jerusalem 1974, p. 38 onwards).
Many wondrous stories are connected to the tomb of Yechezkel, and many Jews would visit it to pray and beg for salvation. One of the early customs was to visit Yechezkel's tomb on Shavuot, on the first day of which Maaseh Merkavah from the Book of Yechezkel is read as haftarah. Thousands of Jews from the area would participate in this event. Another prevalent pilgrimage time was the month of Elul and the subsequent festivals of Tishrei. On both these occasions, pilgrims would recite at the gravesite a special order of verses and prayers, from parchment scrolls (see Kevarim Kedoshim BeBavel, ibid, pp. 80-81).
Contents of the present scroll: two sections from the Book of Yechezkel (Maaseh Merkavah, chapter I and the Dry Bones prophecy, chapter 37); lengthy prayer, several Psalms and sayings of the sages; and an additional brief prayer.
Dedicatory inscription at beginning of scroll: "Dedicated by R. Avraham Ezra Tzion Rachamim".
Height of parchment: approx. 10.5 cm. Stains, tears and blemishes, affecting text in several places. Strap closure at beginning of scroll.
Sephardic stam script, on soft, brown gevil, mounted on a carved, wooden roller.
Iraqi Jews customarily read from such scrolls when praying at the gravesite of prophet Yechezkel in the Al Kifl village (which they referred to as "the village of our master, prophet Yechezkel"), during the pilgrimage on Shavuot and in the month of Elul.
The tomb of prophet Yechezkel was considered holy by Jews of Iraq and neighboring countries, and for hundreds of years was a focal point for pilgrimage. R. Binyamin of Tudela, who visited the site in 1170 writes: "...that place is deemed holy by the Jewish people until this day; people come from afar to pray and celebrate there between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; the exilarch and yeshiva deans travel from Baghdad...". In 1180, R. Petachiah of Regensburg visited the site and likewise described the mass pilgrimage and miracles which took place on that occasion: "...on Sukkot, people come from all countries, and the entrance widens and heightens on its own to the extent camels can enter; some sixty thousand or eighty thousand Jews convene there, apart from the Muslims, and build Sukkot in the courtyard. The entrance later returns to its original size and everyone witnesses it..." (for more information about the Tomb of Yechezkel, the customs surrounding it and its mentions over the years, see: Avraham ben Yaakov, Kevarim Kedoshim BeBavel, Jerusalem 1974, p. 38 onwards).
Many wondrous stories are connected to the tomb of Yechezkel, and many Jews would visit it to pray and beg for salvation. One of the early customs was to visit Yechezkel's tomb on Shavuot, on the first day of which Maaseh Merkavah from the Book of Yechezkel is read as haftarah. Thousands of Jews from the area would participate in this event. Another prevalent pilgrimage time was the month of Elul and the subsequent festivals of Tishrei. On both these occasions, pilgrims would recite at the gravesite a special order of verses and prayers, from parchment scrolls (see Kevarim Kedoshim BeBavel, ibid, pp. 80-81).
Contents of the present scroll: two sections from the Book of Yechezkel (Maaseh Merkavah, chapter I and the Dry Bones prophecy, chapter 37); lengthy prayer, several Psalms and sayings of the sages; and an additional brief prayer.
Dedicatory inscription at beginning of scroll: "Dedicated by R. Avraham Ezra Tzion Rachamim".
Height of parchment: approx. 10.5 cm. Stains, tears and blemishes, affecting text in several places. Strap closure at beginning of scroll.
Category
Esther Scrolls and Parchment Manuscripts
Catalogue