Select manuscript from this collection: B26  S93 S95  S102  104/107

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Zürich
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Braginsky Collection
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
S94
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Megillah Esther (מגילת אסתר) / Esther scroll
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 1 f. · 7.9 x 301 cm · Italy · middle of the 18th century
Language:
Language
Hebrew
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
The text on this Esther scroll (on 5 sheets with 42 columns of text) is written in unusually narrow columns, set in golden frames on a greenish background. The hexagonal case made of cast, chased, engraved and granulated silver bears the silver hallmarks of the city of Rome and of the manufacturer Giovanni Battista Sabatini from 1778 to 1780. The initials alef, resh and samech refer to the patron and to the owner. What is unusual is that in this case, the complete original set of scroll, case and leather box has been preserved. (flu)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bc-s-0094 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bc-s-0094)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
https://e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bc/s-0094
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop https://e-codices.unifr.ch/metadata/iiif/bc-s-0094/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Zürich, Braginsky Collection, S94: Megillah Esther (מגילת אסתר) / Esther scroll (https://e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bc/s-0094).
Online Since:
Online Since
12/10/2020
External resources:
External resources
Rights:
Rights
Images:
(Concerning all other rights see each manuscript description and our Terms of use)
Document Type:
Document Type
Scroll/Roll
Century:
Century
18th century
Decoration:
Decoration
Gold / Silver, Margin, Ornamental
Liturgica hebraica:
Liturgica hebraica
Megillah
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e-codices · 10/13/2020, 16:26:32

During the eighteenth century the art of decorated Esther scrolls reached its height in the ghettos of Italy, where wealthy families commissioned skilled craftsmen to create richly illuminated manuscripts and fine silver cases. This suite of an Esther scroll, case, and box is unusual in that the individual elements of this set of ceremonial objects, commissioned by a patron in eighteenth-century Rome, have been preserved together. It is unusual for such objects to have been maintained as a unified group.
The text of the scroll, written in forty-two columns, is arranged so that each line is unusually short, with only five to six words. Each text column is set in a rectangular frame painted in gold over a greenish undercoat. The opening words of the benedictions and of the book of Esther are written in large ornamental gold script.
The hexagonal case for the Esther scroll is topped by a three-dimensional finial in the form of a rampant lion emerging from the petals of a flower. The case is ornamented with engraved intertwined scroll patterns and floral motifs, and with granulation on the upper and lower sections. It bears city and maker hallmarks for 1778–1780, which is also the approxi mate date of the scroll.
The box that houses the case and scroll is the simplest object in the suite, but it is also the rarest element in the group. Made of wooden panels covered with tooled leather, it is fastened with two clasps. Such original boxes rarely survive with their Esther scrolls and cases. This box matches exactly the dimensions of the silver case.
The silver case is engraved with the Hebrew characters alef, resh, samekh, probably the initials of the patron and owner. The rampant lion at the top of the case refers to a family crest; several Jewish families in Rome are known to have used similar devices. Because the family surname, based on the engraved Hebrew monogram, appears to have begun with a samekh, this heraldic emblem can be associated with the Di Segni or Scazzocchio families.

A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, ed. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 280.

e-codices · 10/13/2020, 16:20:59

Ihren Höhepunkt erreichte die Kunst der Megilla-Ausschmückung während des 18. Jahrhunderts in den Ghettos Italiens, wo wohlhabende Familien bei professionellen Herstellern reich illustrierte Handschriften und zierliche Silberhülsen in Auftrag gaben. Ganz selten blieb aber das vollstän­dige originale Set von Rolle, Hülse und Lederetui erhalten, wie es hier der Fall ist.
Der Text der Rolle ist in ungewöhnlich kleinen Kolumnen geschrieben, so dass jede Zeile nur fünf oder sechs Wörter enthält. Die Kolumnen sind mit grünen und goldenen Rahmenlinien eingefasst. Die Anfangswörter des einleitenden Segens­spruchs und des Bibeltexts sind mit grossen goldenen Buchstaben geschrieben und verstärken so den Eindruck eines besonders edlen und kostbaren Schmuckobjekts.
Die sechseckige Hülse weist die Silbermarken der Stadt Rom und des Herstellers Giovanni Battista Sabatini von 1778 bis 1780 auf. An promi­nenter Stelle neben dem Eingangsschlitz für die Rolle sind mit den hebräischen Schriftzeichen Alef, Resch und Samech die Initialen des Auftraggebers und Besitzers eingraviert. Der steigende Löwe mit Palmzweig an der Spitze des Hülsenkörpers bezieht sich sehr wahrscheinlich auf ein Familien­emblem, wie es von mehreren jüdischen Geschlechtern in Rom in ähnlicher Weise verwendet wurde. Es handelt sich hier wohl um das Emblem einer Familie, deren Name mit einem Samech begann, etwa der Di Segni oder der Scazzocchio.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 316.

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A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, ed. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 280.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 316.

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