Bidspirit auction | Esther Scroll in Gilt Filigree

Esther Scroll in Gilt Filigree Silver Case Decorated with Pearls and Corals, with Original Fabric Cover and Dedication to Groom – Izmir, 1870 - Esther scroll with elaborate handle. [Izmir, Ottoman Empire], 1870. Ink on parchment and paper; silver, filigree and granulation (unmarked); gilt; pearls and coral beads; patterned brocade silk, embroidered with threads colored gold, green and purple; iron sheet. Esther scroll in HaMelech format, written on 5 parchment sheets sewn together, 18 text columns, 19 lines per column, with Tagim. Decorations on Lamed and other letters at tops of columns, as well as some letters at bottoms of columns. Leading edge artistically cut. Rolled on a tall, elaborate silver handle, decorated in high-quality filigree, with granulation and tiny silver plates shaped as diamonds and in small flower patterns. The top is stylized as a three-tiered crown – decorated with pearls and coral beads – surmounted by a dome bearing a cone topped by another faceted coral bead. Accompanied by original elegant brocade silk cover, with embroidered decorations, and small gold-colored tassel fasteners. The scroll is placed in an iron sheet case covered with a decorated parchment sheet featuring the blessings on the Megillah and a dedication to a groom: ”Scroll given as a gift to the beloved and pleasant, wise and distinguished R. Yisrael HaKohen, [1870]”. This leaf, written by the same scribe who wrote the scroll, also features the blessings (in abbreviations): ”BeSiman Tov UveMazal Tov” and ”May you merit many pleasant and good years”. There seems to have previously been another name which was subsequently deleted, written where the name ”Yisrael Meir” now appears. Height of parchment: 14.5 cm. Height of blessings leaf: 13.5 cm. Height of case: 43 cm. Diameter of case: 6 cm. Very good condition. Light stains and creases to scroll. Minor warping and defects to handle. Ornament at bottom of handle flattened. Metal case may be more recent. Light creases and stains to parchment leaf (partially detached from handle). For comparison, see: Esther Juhasz (ed.), Sephardic Jews in the Ottoman Empire, Israel Museum, 1989, p. 83, plate 41 (Hebrew version); Center for Jewish Art, item 40982 (the Gross Family Collection). This scroll formerly belonged to the collection of Mozes Heiman Gans (1917-1987), Amsterdam.