Esther scroll with decorative patterns. Morocco, [probably Tafilalt region, 19th century].
Ink and paint on dark vellum (parchment); carved wood.
Esther scroll inscribed in Sephardi script in black ink on 6 sheets (of various widths) of parchment, sewn one to the other, containing a total of 19 columns of text, 9 rows per column. The 16th column, which appears before the listing of the names of Haman’s ten sons, is conspicuously narrow.
Some of the columns are laid out such that either the top or bottom of the text is narrower; other columns are shaped as a rhombus. A dozen of these irregular columns are framed with colorful decorations in geometric (arabesque) or vegetal patterns typical of Moroccan decorative art.
The scroll is wound around a wooden handle, probably hand–carved, and quite possibly older than the scroll itself.
A rare example of an illustrated Esther Scroll scribed on parchment (such North-African Esther scrolls are rarely illustrated).
Approx. 15.5X245 cm. Wooden handle: 36.5 cm. Fair–good condition. Tears to edges of first sheet. Creases, stains, and blemishes. Some decorations faded or affected by browning. Old tears mended with vellum. Fractures to wooden handle.
See also: Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Item No. 39612.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, No. 081.012.052.
