Sefer Tehillim (Psalms), Illuminated and Decorated Manuscript on Vellum, Hanover:1734

113 leaves (4 7/8 x 3½ in.; 124 x 89 mm) including 103 leaves on vellum + 6 leaves on paper + 4 paper blanks, written in black ink, 17 lines to the page in square Hebrew script with nikkud, blind ruled, dual pagination with Hebrew characters at outer head of each recto and numerals at foot of each framed page; numeration for individual Psalms. Title within full-page painted scene and 31 additional miniatures decorated in gouache, page frames and many initial words in liquid gold, sectional titles illuminated with floral decoration painted in yellow and red, occasional marginal drawings in gouache. Edges gilt. Eighteenth-century faded Italian red velvet, decorated paper endpapers; rebacked, edges rubbed.

Michel Segal (presented to him 19 March 1734) — Rosa Speyer (the appended letter of gift to Burnell, undated but marked in another hand "July 9^th 1928") —  George Edwin Burnell, d.1948.

Ernest M. Namenyi, "The Illumination of Hebrew Manuscripts after the Invention of Printing" in Jewish Art, C. Roth, ed. (New York, 1971), p.159; Menahem Schmelzer, "Decorated Hebrew Manuscripts of the Eighteenth Century" in Occident and Orient (Budapest, 1988), p. 342; Michael A. Meyer, ed., German-Jewish History in Modern Times,1996

Nearly three hundred years after the invention of printing, the dormant art of producing decorated and illuminated Hebrew manuscripts experienced an unexpected revival during the eighteenth century. Usually commissioned by wealthy middle- and upper-class Jews, these illuminated and decorated manuscripts include haggadot, Psalms, and prayer books of several varieties.

The artistic program of the present manuscript however, is unparalleled among other eighteenth century Hebrew illuminated Books of Psalms in terms of the sheer number of illustrations as well as in their thematic relationship to the text. In addition to the title page there are 31 miniatures, each of which relates specifically to the text of the adjacent Psalm. The example of Psalm 51 whose authorship is ascribed to King David, provides an illustrative example. As described in II Samuel (ch. 11-12), King David was chastised by the Prophet Nathan for engaging in adultery with Bathsheba. There, in a stirring passage, Nathan had compared David to a wealthy man who had stolen the lamb of a poor man.  The artist of our manuscript has pictorially alluded to the text of Nathan's rebuke of David in the accompanying miniature.

The title page of this exceptional devotional manuscript is divided into two sections. In the lower half of the page, an inscription beneath the illuminated title of the Book of Psalms informs us that the work is a gift presented by a devoted son to his father-in-law, the Shtadlan Michel Segal and his wife Hannaleh in Hanover in 1734. The vignette in the upper portion of the page depicts the presentation and three oval medallions bear the names of Michel, Hannaleh and the presenter's name (most likely Heshel or Herschel). The gift of the manuscript coincided with the Festival of Purim and was sent in the tradition of mishloah manot and is dated: Friday, Purim [14 Adar II, 5]494 (=19 March 1734).

One of the most prominent Court Jews of the eighteenth century was Behrend Lehmann (1661-1730), also known as Issachar Bermann Segal. The designation as Shtadlan, the last name Segal and the location in Hanover all suggest the possibility that the Michel Segal of our manuscript may have been one of the network of relatives and agents of Behrend Lehmann who were known to be found in Hanover.

In Jewish tradition, the Book of Psalms contains 150 chapters divided into five sections or "books," an analogy to the Pentateuch.  In addition to these standard divisions, the artist of our manuscript has designated 30 divisions of five Psalms each as daily readings allowing the recitation of the entire book once a month.