Illuminated Esther scroll, placed in a carved wooden case decorated with silver plaques and cutouts. [20th century].
Ink on parchment; paint and gilding; carved and turned wood; engraved and cut silver.
Ashkenazic scroll (script typical of Poland, 20th century). On the opening tab of the scroll, illustrations of seven scenes from the Purim narrative, depicting figures dressed in Eastern garb. Fine vegetal decoration, with grape clusters, between the columns and along the bottom of the scroll.
Inked stamp in the corner of the scroll: "Eliezer Ratzkovsky, Jerusalem". R. Eliezer and Esther Ratzkovsky of Paris are mentioned by the historian Yosef Yoel Rivlin, as well as in the collection of documents of the Old Yishuv in Me'ah She'arim, as those who donated the building of the Damesek Eliezer yeshiva in Me'ah She'arim in the early 20th century.
The scroll is placed in an impressive wooden case – a central cylinder placed between four carved columns, decorated with silver cutouts portraying candelabras and vegetal motifs, silver plaques depicting the holy sites in Jerusalem, and the inscription "Megillat Esther" (Hebrew). Signed at the base: "Michael Filkowsky Artist Jerusalem".
Parchment height: 55 cm. 48 lines per column. Good condition. A few stains and creases. Owner's stamp. Height of case: 68 cm. Good condition. One foot supporting base displaced. Silver plaques loose.