Engraved Esther Scroll from the Netherlands – Written by a Woman in Heidelberg, Germany, 1757

Esther scroll, decorated with engravings. [Printed in the Netherlands, probably Amsterdam]; written in Heidelberg, Germany, 1757.

Engraving and ink on parchment.

Written on four sheets of parchment sewn together, 16 columns of text + beginning and end columns, 24-27 lines per column.

On beginning column, blessings to be recited over the reading of the Megillah in Ashkenazic script; at top of end column, hand-drawn illustration (very faded) followed by the concluding blessing on the Megillah and the piyyut Asher Heni (Shoshanat Yaakov) and a colophon (partially faded): "I am writing this on 15th Adar 1757 in Heidelberg for R. [?] Yitzchak son of Mordechai" [the feminine verb used indicates that the scribe was a woman].

The scroll is richly decorated with high-quality engravings: eight depicting scenes from the Purim story incorporated in first column, sixteen engravings on the bottom margins of the columns also depicting the Purim story (some based on Midrash), and sixteen engravings at tops of columns depicting landscapes (actually a series of four landscapes repeated four times). Between the text columns are large, decorated pillars, some decorated with cherubs (putti) holding baskets of flowers on their heads; under each pillar – on bottom margins – is a large jug with flowers and fruits, separating the Purim story scenes.

This scroll belongs to a group of Esther scrolls decorated with engravings, produced in Amsterdam in the 18th century in various types. The present type is the earliest variation known, with a copy kept in the René Braginsky collection, Zürich, dated 1701.

Judaica scholars debated the origin of these scrolls for decades, assigning them to various countries of origin in Europe. In 2002, Adri K. Offenberg of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana identified a watermark of C & I Honig, active throughout the 18th century in the Netherlands. Due to the abundance of scrolls of this type in Central and Eastern Europe (Germany, Bohemia, Moravia and Poland) – such as the present one – Offenberg suggested they were produced by Dutch printers and publishers for export to Europe.

Height of parchment: 16.5 cm. Length of parchment: 174 cm. Fair-good condition. Creases, stains and wear, mainly to beginning of first sheet, end of last sheet and margins. Piece missing from edge of third sheet (professionally restored). Defects and fading of ink to last column, affecting illustration and text. Piece missing from bottom of end column, professionally restored. Leather-coated cardboard case (late).

Provenance: Sotheby's, Jerusalem, May 17-18, 1985, Lot 59.