Esther Scroll

Artist Unknown

ca. 1850

Scroll featuring Hebrew text and floral motifs.
The scroll (megillah) of Esther is read out loud on the holiday of Purim. This example, from Baghdad, is hand painted, with an ornate design in which bands of flowers frame the text. It is rolled on a silver handle engraved with the name of the owner of the manuscript, R. D. Sassoon, a member of a prominent Jewish Baghdadi family, which was at the time one of the richest families in the world.

Credits

Braginsky Collection Megillah 75. Braginsky Collection, Zurich. Photography by Ardon Bar-Hama, Ra’anana, Israel.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.

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