Decorated Esther Scroll Housed in a Parcel-Gilt Silver Case, [Ottoman Empire: 19th Century]

Ink and gouache on parchment (3 1/8 x 67 in.; 80 x 1701 mm). Text written in square Hebrew script arranged in 19 columns of 19 lines on five membranes, housed in an eight-sided, cylindrical, parcel gilt  case topped by a dome, and a coral bead. The panels alternate between gilt with scrolled foliage and silver with an elongated cartouche. Minor loss in the lower border of the first text panel, repaired. Some minor flaking to pigments.

The geometric and floral motifs that adorn this vividly colored scroll are consistent with the decorative schemes incorporated onto objects of Judaica produced in the Islamic cultural milieu. The prevalent Islamic artistic vocabulary that emphasized abstract ornament strongly influenced the art of the Jews living in many Near Eastern countries. A nearly identical scroll and case is currently in the collection of the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary (# S23).