Megillat Esther, Yaacov Agam, Paris: Arcay Studio, 1987

Megillat Esther, Yaacov Agam, Paris: Arcay Studio, 1987

Limited edition, number 3 of 180, signed by the artist in Latin characters at the front and in Hebrew at the rear; also signed by the artist and printer on the annexed certificate of authenticity.

The present megillah features the traditional biblical text adorned with the artist’s distinctly modern and brilliantly colored work. Agam embellished the scroll with abstracted imagery from the Purim story, including a scene of Haman leading Mordechai on horseback, as well as a pair of dice, a reference to the lots that Haman cast to determine the exact date on which to annihilate the Jewish people. Much labor was invested in creating this limited-edition megillah: the serigraphs were produced by hand on parchment, all color separations were personally done by the artist, and the text was handwritten by a scribe. All told, it constitutes a monument to modern Hebrew scroll decoration.

Physical Description

Scroll (19 1/2 x approx. 227 1/4 in.; 495 x approx. 5772 mm) on parchment. Text written in Ashkenazic Beit yosef square script in black ink; arranged in 11 columns with 42 lines to a column on 8 membranes stitched and glued together with tape, the tape loosening in places; each membrane except membrane 7 numbered in pen 3/180. Elaborate artwork in Agam’s distinctive style along upper margin and between text columns. Some smudging of ink and damage to art intermittently throughout; minor creasing and warping of parchment; at least one mistaken spelling in column 3 of membrane 2. Housed in a broken plexiglass display case exhibiting damage throughout; the scroll secured to the plexiglass at front with three plastic rings but not secured at back. Accompanied by an annexed certificate of authenticity.