Large Esther Scroll with Illustrated Family Coat of Arms – Rome, 17th Century

Large-format Esther scroll. [Italy, presumably Rome, ca, 1640s / second half of the 17th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Large-format Esther scroll, written in exceptionally large script on 11 sheets of parchment sewn together, 47 columns of text (3-5 columns per sheet), 13 lines per column, with short "Tagim" over designated letters.

The margin of the first sheet is artistically trimmed and decorated with illustrations in shades of green, red, and black. In its center appears a family coat of arms – a lion standing on one leg beside a tall branch – within an ornate cartouche, surrounded by a symmetrical composition of birds, flowers, foliage, and ribbons.

An additional decorated cartouche near the edge of the sheet contains an ownership inscription, partially erased and later supplemented, mentioning R. Menachem Elia Di Segni and the year 5400 (1694). The original inscription was likely written in the 1640s, with the date corrected and the name added in 1694.

Parchment height: 29 cm. Length: approx. 842 cm. Overall fair condition. Stains, creases, and wear. Tears affecting the text (primarily in the first and last sheets). Old restorations. Erasures and corrections. Ink fading. Several loose sheet joints.

A similar scroll from Rome, dated 5422 [1662], with similar illustration and ownership inscription, is kept in the Biblioteca Angelica, Rome (Ms. or. 87; Center for Jewish Art [CJA] item 38353).