Auction 97 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Parchment sheet containing the "Blessings over the Megillah" recited on Purim before and after the reading of the "Megillah" (Esther scroll). Framed within a hand-painted engraving of fine quality by the engraver Andrea Marelli, [Rome, ca. 1570-1572].
Parchment sheet containing the "Blessings over the Megillah", handwritten in particularly beautiful square script. Framing the manuscript is an engraving created by the Italian painter and engraver Andrea Marelli, active in Rome ca. 1567-1572. The engraving is of a fine and delicate quality. It features two bare-breasted figures, a pair of recumbent infants (putti), and an additional pair of putti holding rabbits. These human figures are superimposed over an architectonic frame which includes curtains, bouquets of flowers and fruit, and grotesque masks, all in a style typical of Marelli’s works.
The identification of this engraving as one by Marelli is based on a comparison with another frame he created, which appears in the book by G.F. Creci entitled "Il perfetto scrittore", printed in Rome in 1570 (see enclosed material, and article by Eva Frojmovic, listed below).
Only three Esther scrolls framed with engravings by Andrea Marelli are known to be extant, and they are thought to be the earliest examples of Esther scrolls bearing engraved illuminations ever created: The first is part of the Collection of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio; the second belongs to the Collection of the British Library, London; and the third can be found in the collection of Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich. Of these, only the third includes a matching sheet of Megillah blessings. An additional sheet of blessings over the Megillah is documented in the "Jüdisches Lexikon" (Berlin, 1930), but its current whereabouts are unknown.
The present sheet of "Blessings over the Megillah" can thus be included with the other two known sheets, but it is distinguishable from them in its distinct design, and as such represents a new and previously unknown type of sheet of Esther scroll blessings engraved by this artist. Its particular design, and the particular way it was painted, suggest that it was originally attached to the Esther scroll kept in the British Library, mentioned above.
Parchment sheet: 17X24.5 cm. Engraving: 16X21.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Tears to edges and two pinholes. Creases. Remnants of glue on verso (resulting from old framing).
References:
1. Mendel Metzger, "The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol. 48, no. 2, 1966, pp. 381-432.
2. Eva Frojmovic, "The ‘Perfect Scribe’ and an early engraved Esther scroll", The British Library Journal, Vol. 23, no. 1, Spring 1997, pp. 68-80.
For comparison, see: The Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item no. 39632; Collection of the British Library, item no. Or 13028; Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Klau Library, item no. IX. 6; Christie’s, Amsterdam, auction no. 2537, June 18, 2022, lot no. 389.
Provenance: The Richard Levy (1930-2019) Collection, Florida.
We thank Prof. Emile Schrijver for his assistance in identifying the scribe.
Parchment manuscript, Tefillat HaDerech with Kiddush Levanah and the bedtime reading of Shema. London, 1744.
Pocket format. Ink on parchment. Neat square and semi-cursive Ashkenazic script partially vocalized. Original leather binding, with fine floral decorations.
Title page illustrated in blue ink, in the style of copper engravings appearing in books printed in Amsterdam and elsewhere – the figures of Moses and Aaron on the two sides of the frame, with a pair of lions holding a cartouche above them.
On the title page is written: "Tefillat HaDerech with Kiddush Levanah and the nighttime reading of Shema, as printed in the prayer of R. Yeshayah Horowitz author of Shlah, all handwritten on parchment in 5504 [1744], in the magnificent city of London".
The scribe of the manuscript is apparently Simchah Pihem Segal of Mannheim; the style of writing and illustration of the title page match the manuscripts he copied, all generally of the same type as the present item – booklets in a small format, with Birkat HaMazon, Kiddush Levanah and the like. Several manuscripts of his are known (including Jewish Museum London, Ms. 15; Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, Ms. 698; Gross Family Collection, Ms. GR.012.004; Trinity College, Ms. F 12 30), all copied in Mannheim, some in 1733 and others in 1735. This is the only manuscript scribed in London, in 1734.
Ownership inscription on front endpaper, first leaf and last leaf, some deleted, by "R. Avraham Solzbacher".
[19] parchment leaves. Approx. 10.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dark stains in several places. Several leaves partially detached. Original leather binding, with light damage.
We thank Prof. Emil Schrijver for assisting with the identification of the scribe of the present manuscript.
Illustrated parchment ketubah for the marriage of Yosef Khaliffa Matook and Khatoon daughter of Reuven Sassoon. Singapore, 5th Tammuz (June 13) 1899.
Ink and paint on parchment.
Parchment membrane, with vibrantly colored illustrations in green, red, pink and blue, and decorated golden frames, arranged and designed in a similar fashion to ketubot of the Baghdadi community in Calcutta (Kolkata), India. The upper frame is designed as a triangle with truncated corners, with verses of blessings written in square letters. The lower frame is rectangular, containing the text of the ketubah, in Sephardic script (the names and numbers in square script). Wide margins, decorated with a vegetal motif including colorful roses and songbirds; on the bottom margin are a pair of fish swimming toward each other (another motif characteristic of the Calcutta Baghdadi community).
At the bottom of the text of the ketubah appear signatures of the bridegroom and the witnesses: "Ezra Meir Avraham Shalom Suleiman", "Aharon Shlomo Yosef Eliyahu". Below the signatures appears a confirmation handwritten and signed by "Eliyahu Yosef Sherida" – a Singapore rabbi, with his stamp and the official stamp of the "Singapore community – Magen Avot". Next to R. Sherida's confirmation is an additional confirmation in English on the genuineness of his signature, dated 1921, with an embossed stamp of the British Colonial Secretary. On left margin, stamp and tax stamp.
The first Jews to reach Singapore in the first decades on the 19th century were merchants originating from Baghdad, having arrived mainly from India, Iraq and Iran. In 1840, about 22 Jewish residents were registered on the island. The Magen Avot synagogue, inaugurated in 1878, is considered the oldest in Southeast Asia; at the time of its inauguration the Jewish community numbered some 172 members.
There are a few known ketubot from Singapore, including two in the Israel Museum collection (from 1880 and 1938, items B05695 and B00.0652 respectively), and a third formerly in the Sassoon collection (from 1879, Ohel David, no. 432, p. 383).
30X47 cm. Overall good condition. Some stains. Creases and folds.
· Enclosed with the ketubah:
A large paper leaf, typewritten, with handwritten additions – "Abstract of Marriage Document", an official document issued for the British authorities in Singapore, containing a brief translation of the above ketubah. Singapore, [1899]. English.
According to the document, the wedding of the couple (Joseph Khaliffa and Khatoon Reuben Sassoon) was held on June 13, 1898 [should be 1899], in the Magen Avot synagogue on Waterloo Street, Singapore.
The document cites the groom's promises to the bride during the wedding ceremony, with a detailed listing of his halachic duties towards her, as well as the bride's promises to the groom to fulfill the halachic duties of a married woman. According to the document, the wedding was officiated by R. Sherida, and the names of the above witnesses are cited. At the bottom of this document appear the signature of R. "Eliyahu Yosef Sherida" (in Hebrew), his stamp (in English) and the stamp of the Magen Avot synagogue in Singapore (in Hebrew).
At the top and bottom of the leaf are two tax stamps (marked one dollar and five dollars) and two official stamps (embossed and ink).
Next to the rabbi's signature are several lines confirming the veracity of the contents, signed by the local British Justice of Peace.
At the bottom of the leaf is a handwritten confirmation of the genuineness of R. Sherida's signature, dated 1921, with a handwritten signature and an embossed stamp of the British Colonial Secretary.
On the verso of the leaf is an ink stamp filled in by hand (Dutch), next to an official stamp of the Dutch Consulate in Singapore (confirmation of the registration of the marriage?).
Approx. 33.5X40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and folding marks. Small marginal tears and open tears.
Handwritten legal document on parchment: ruling of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali in favor of the Jewish community of Ancona, in a proceeding held regarding it. Rome, 1710. Latin.
Official document reporting the ruling of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato, in a suit involving the representatives of the city of Ancona and the city's Jewish community. Held in Rome, on July 19, 1710, signed with an official wax seal and signature of a notary.
The city of Ancona (Marche region, Italy) was annexed to the Papal States in the 16th century. The city had an active port which was a center of commerce with Ottoman lands, and it contained a diverse Jewish community which was centered in a ghetto by force of papal decree. Various taxes, decrees and restrictions were imposed on the Jews of Ancona, while they nevertheless exerted a heavy influence on the city's economy, due to their commercial ties between the port and the Levantine regions.
According to the present document, in 1652 the representative of the Congregazione del Buon Governo (the church's governing body which supervised the financial conduct of local authorities in the Papal States) prescribed that whenever the papal military would pass through Ancona, the city authorities would pay for three-fourths of the total maintenance costs of the soldiers, while the local Jewish community, as part of its particular restrictions and taxes, would pay for one fourth of the total cost, in money or merchandise.
On February 13, 1710, representatives of Ancona applied to the Congregazione del Buon Governo to increase the Jewish community's share of the costs of upkeep of the soldiers in the above case, and to decrease the city's share. The Jewish community opposed the move, and the issue was brought to the authorities. The present document cites the ruling of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato, determining: "quo ad utensilia Communitatem teneri pro nunc ad satisfactionem pro tribus ex quatuor partibu", i.e. the status quo would remain unchanged – the city of Ancona would continue to bear three-fourths of the total maintenance costs of the soldiers, while the Jewish community would pay one fourth.
Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1651-1737; in the Latin appearing at the beginning of the document: Ioseph Renatus), a senior clergyman, born in Francavilla Fontana (Kingdom of Naples) to the famous Imperiali family; an avid bibliophile and founder of the Imperiali Library. A candidate for pope, he lost the election by a single vote.
26X35 cm. Good condition. Several holes, slightly affecting text. Folding marks to height and width.