Megillas Esther. Italy, Late  17th Century

Fascinating Color Illustrations on Parchment!
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Megillas Esther. Italy, Late  17th Century

Fascinating Color Illustrations on Parchment!
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Megillas Esther, printed and then beautifully illustrated on parchment. Each illustration is a work of art and is enhanced with vibrant colors, typical of the style of 17th-century Italian artists and illustrators.

This is one of the earliest engraved illustrated Esther scrolls from Italy.

The megillah is inscribed with high-quality ink and features impressive designs and color illustrations. Between every two columns, there is a delicate illustration of leaves. The tops and bottoms of the columns boast 18 color illustrations encased in a red ink border depicting the story of the megillah and intriguing geometrical shapes.

The leaf preceding the first column of text depicts a large illustration of Mordechai sitting on the king’s horse led by Haman and an entourage of five musicians with musical instruments.

Italy, late 17th century. 3 parchment leaves sewn together, printed on 18 columns - 25 lines per column.

Height of parchment: 17 cm.

For more information on this type of scroll see here

This is one of the earliest engraved illustrated Esther scrolls from Italy.

Condition: Ink is partially slightly faded but was restored during a later period of time. Used. Minor tears, but all text is intact. Restorations on the margins of the first section. Preserved in a new case.

Provenance:

1. Sotheby’s Jerusalem 1987. May 24, Item 32.

2. Yechezkel Toporowitch Collection

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