Important Set of Four Illuminated Biblical Scrolls, Jerusalem: ca. 1930

4 scrolls (height of roller: 8 1/2 in.; 216 mm, height of parchment  5 3/4 in. ;146 mm). Ink and gouache on parchment, scrolls fitted onto parcel-gilt silver rollers topped with crown finials, bottom of each handle is set with a garnet. Each scroll is encircled with a hinged silver band and clasp with engraved titles in Hebrew letters. All encased in a green leather, velvet-lined presentation case.

Four scrolls, each written in a fine hand, with text set within circular frames, surrounded by richly colored borders. The four scrolls comprise the books of Esther, Ruth, Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs) and Kohelet (Ecclesiates). Each scroll opens with an illustration relating to the contents of the book as follows:

Esther-A depiction of Esther being presented to King Ahasuerus.

Ruth-A depiction of Boaz as he encounters Ruth gleaning in his fields.

Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs)-A depiction of two lovers.  Usually, the male figure is identified with King Solomon, author of the text and the female figure is thought by some to represent the Queen of Sheba.

Kohelet (Ecclesiates)-A young man plays the lyre in a pastoral setting.  This may be an allusion to the beginning of verse 9 in chapter 11: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth.

The foundation of the Bezalel school In 1906 by Boris Schatz (1867-1932) must be considered the beginning of genuine artistic activity in the Land of Israel in modern times. The new aesthetic was certainly informed by the European traditions that various Jewish artists brought with them to the Holy Land, but it was also a product of the nationalist Zionist consciousness that was pervasive in the hearts and minds of these new arrivals to the Land of Israel.

Augmenting ancient and tradititional liturgical texts with the application of contemporary artistic mores, these scrolls are among the finest examples of the objects produced by the rapidly growing community of decorative artists working in the Land of Israel in the first decades of the twentieth century.