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Img. ID: 355540

© Gross Family Collection (GFC), Photographer: Bar Hama, Ardon, -

Sheet no. 1

The fifth and sixth columns of text are inscribed within arches surrounded by engraved decorations. In the octagons below the standing figures are depicted (from the right to the left):

4. The king with seven men, possibly the princes of Media and Persia (Es. 1:14).

5. Possibly Esther, Hegai, and Mordecai (Es. 2:8?).

6. An unidentified scene - only the figure of the king on the right is visible.

Name/Title
GFC Shalom Italia Engraved Esther Scroll with Hand-Drawn Illustrations | Unknown
Object Detail
cols. 5 and 6
Settings
Unknown
Date
1640s
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Ink in parchment (printed border, handwritten text) + wood + silk
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
The scroll: 335x4830 mm.
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition

In general, the manuscript (the text, decorations, and parchments) is well preserved.

The silk is dirty.

Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents

The Book of Esther in Hebrew preceded by the initial benedictions.

Codicology

The scroll is formed of 4 sheets. The first 3 sheets contain in total 22 columns with the text of the Book of Esther and the two additional panels are written on the fourth sheet. Each column includes 21 lines, except for col. 19 which has 19 lines, col. 20 which has 11 lines divided into two half-columns, and col. 22 with 23 lines (the last two words of the book are written on the lower margin).

The number of columns of text per sheet: nos. 1 - 6 columns, nos. 2 and 3 - 8 columns, no. 4 - 2 columns.

The text is written in Hebrew square script in brown ink of different shades on the flesh side of parchment membranes.

The letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29) are enlarged and bolded. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 20.

The text opens with an enlarged word ויהי written separately in the first line.

The name of Harbona in col. 14 starts with an enlarged letter ח that is formed of two parts joined with a roof.

The ruling is barely visible and only in a few places.

The pricking is invisible.

The membranes of the scroll are stitched together.

Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
The signature of the engraver is incorporated in the opening decoration: "Salom. Italia sculpsit."
Colophon

Within the last arcade (no. 22 on the fourth membrane), a short inscription by the scribe Moses Gabay in Portuguese is written: "Mosse gabay escreueo esta migila [two illegible words] 1470 [or 1670]".

Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks

It seems the illustrations were drawn with the same ink as the text was copied.

Some details on the third membrane are colored with orange paint.

The text in col. 20 is written in darker ink.

There are several scrolls sharing the same pattern and others adorned with different borders designed by the same artist (see "Related objects").

Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

Bibliography concerning the scrolls designed by Shalom Italia or attributed to him:

Sharon Assaf, Emily D. Bilski, Salom Italia's Esther Scrolls and the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam 2011.

A Journey through Jewish Worlds: Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books, eds. E.M. Cohen, E. Schrijver, S. Liberman Mintz, Amsterdam 2009, 228-231 (describes another scroll designed by Shalom Italia).

Michael Garel, An Esther Scroll by Shalom Italia, "The Israel Museum Journal" 5 (Spring 1986), 107–108.

Mordecai Narkiss, Yeẓurato shel Shalom ben rabbi Mordechai Italia (1619–1655?) [The Oeuvre of the Jewish Engraver Salom Italia (1619–1655?)], "Tarbiz" 25(4), 1956, 441–451, and: ibidem no. 26(1), 1957, 87–101.

Shalom Sabar, A New Discovery: The Earliest Illustrated Esther Scroll by Shalom Italia, „Ars Judaica” 2012, no. 8, 119–136.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, eds. Emile Schrijver, Falk Wiesemann, Evelyn M. Cohen, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Menahem Schmeltzer, Zurich 2011, 274‒279.

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2021
Author of description
Dagmara Budzioch | 2021
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
M003410