Scroll of the Book of Esther

Andrea Marelli

1573

Manuscript scroll page with Hebrew text and decorated border with illustrations of cherubs, faces, animals, ribbons, and flowers.
Like Torah scrolls, the scroll of the biblical book of Esther, read ritually in the synagogue on the holiday of Purim, must be completely unadorned. However, in the sixteenth century, for reasons unknown, a tradition of decorating the scroll began to develop in Italy; this is one of only four extant decorated Esther scrolls from that century. Handwritten on thick parchment, it features printed (and hand-colored) borders. The borders, originally created to frame each of the letters of the alphabet in a set designed by an Italian calligrapher, have been repurposed here to provide a frame for the biblical text. Note the presence of putti (cherubs) above the text and the half-nude figures to the sides.

Credits

The British Library, London, England Or. 13028.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Andrea Marelli

16th Century

Andrea Marelli was an Italian book illustrator and printmaker who was active in Rome and Sienna between 1567 and 1572.

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