A SILVER ESTHER SCROLL CASE FITTED WITH A DECORATED ESTHER SCROLL, [IOANNINA, 19TH CENTURY]

The custom of ornamenting Esther scrolls with artwork became popular in the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. This megillah features an opening panel of floral decoration and text columns separated by bands of floral motifs. The silver case is ornamented with baskets brimming with flowers and complements the decoration of the scroll. The case is surmounted by a stylized cluster of flowers and leaves. In Ioannina, and in Jewish communities across the Ottoman Empire, wealthy families often presented an Esther scroll housed in a silver case as a gift to a bridegroom from his future in-laws.