Lot 357
Exceptionally Mehudar Esther Scroll - Scribed by the Sofer of Vilkomir - Jerusalem, 19th Century
Mehudar Esther scroll on parchment, 11 lines, large letters and exceptionally wide margins. [Jerusalem, late 19th century].
Ink on parchment. Particularly neat Ashkenazic Beit Yosef Stam script. Large script (height of letters: approx. 7-12 mm). 11 lines per column. 47 columns. Exceptionally wide margins - upper margin approx. 5 cm and lower margin approx. 7.5 cm.
The handwriting was identified by Stam experts as that of the famous Sofer of Vilkomir, R. Yekutiel HaSofer, a leading and skilled Sofer in Jerusalem in the times of the Maharil Diskin and R. Shmuel Salant. In 1883, R. Shmuel Salant ordered a Torah scroll from R. Yekutiel HaSofer, and they drew up a contract between them for an exceptionally mehudar scroll, scribed to the highest standards of perfection.
The script of R. Yekutiel HaSofer of Vilkomir stands out for its beauty and precision, and for the special nuances in the form of the letters. The form of the letters scribed by the Sofer of Vilkomir became a model for others, and served also as proof in halachic studies of the laws of the shapes of the letters and the Masoret of Stam script.
The ink in which the scroll was written did not fade over time; the letters remained in all their beauty, in strong black color. This is typical of the Stam products of the Sofer of Vilkomir and of his colleague R. Netanel Sofer of Jerusalem, who both used special ink they produced themselves.
R. Yekutiel David son of R. Eliyahu Sofer - The Sofer of Vilkomir (d. Tammuz 1901, buried on the Mount of Olives), immigrated to Jerusalem, ca. 1880. The Sofer of Vilkomir and his younger colleague R. Netanel Sofer Tefillinski are considered the progenitors of the Jerusalemite Stam tradition (see Hebrew sidebar).
Height of parchment: 27-27.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and creases. Mounted on a wooden roller. Height of roller: 37 cm.
Expert report enclosed.
