Megillah Ester
Manuscript
1643 (made)
1643 (made)
| Place of origin |
A Megillah is a book of the Hebrew scriptures appointed to be read on certain Jewish notable days. The word is especially likely to be used in reference to The Book of Esther which is read at the Jewish festival of Purim which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people by Esther and her cousin Mordecai. The Megillah is read twice in the course of the festival: on the eve of Purim, and during Purim day. It is read in the original Hebrew from a parchment scroll.
This exceptional example was written by - and made for - Michael Judah Leon, scribe to the Sephardi community in Amsterdam, who dated his transcription to 1643. It was then hand-illustrated with sepia drawings by draughtsman and engraver Salom Italia who came from a family of Hebrew printers in Mantua. Forced to flee after the Jewish population was expelled in 1630, he arrived in Amsterdam via Venice in 1644.
[above information partly drawn from Pride & Persecution. Jan Steen's Old Testament Scenes, by Robert Wenley, Nina Cahill and Rosalie van Gulick. 2017]
This exceptional example was written by - and made for - Michael Judah Leon, scribe to the Sephardi community in Amsterdam, who dated his transcription to 1643. It was then hand-illustrated with sepia drawings by draughtsman and engraver Salom Italia who came from a family of Hebrew printers in Mantua. Forced to flee after the Jewish population was expelled in 1630, he arrived in Amsterdam via Venice in 1644.
[above information partly drawn from Pride & Persecution. Jan Steen's Old Testament Scenes, by Robert Wenley, Nina Cahill and Rosalie van Gulick. 2017]
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Megillah Ester (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Manuscript roll, 'Megillah Ester' (The Scroll of Esther), Amsterdam, 1643. |
| Physical description | 1 roll (6 sheets) of parchment on a silver-gilt roller. Text written in square letters, arranged in 18 columns of script. Decorated with ink drawings of Esther and Mordecai, and borders of foliage and figures interspersed with cartouches containing land and seascapes and scenes from Esther. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Written by and made for Michael Judah Leon, scribe to the Sephardi community in Amsterdam, dated 1643. Purchased for £40 from Messrs Elkington & Co., Birmingham, in November 1879 (as 'Spanish or Portuguese?'). |
| Associations | |
| Summary | A Megillah is a book of the Hebrew scriptures appointed to be read on certain Jewish notable days. The word is especially likely to be used in reference to The Book of Esther which is read at the Jewish festival of Purim which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people by Esther and her cousin Mordecai. The Megillah is read twice in the course of the festival: on the eve of Purim, and during Purim day. It is read in the original Hebrew from a parchment scroll. This exceptional example was written by - and made for - Michael Judah Leon, scribe to the Sephardi community in Amsterdam, who dated his transcription to 1643. It was then hand-illustrated with sepia drawings by draughtsman and engraver Salom Italia who came from a family of Hebrew printers in Mantua. Forced to flee after the Jewish population was expelled in 1630, he arrived in Amsterdam via Venice in 1644. [above information partly drawn from Pride & Persecution. Jan Steen's Old Testament Scenes, by Robert Wenley, Nina Cahill and Rosalie van Gulick. 2017] |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Library number | MSL/1879/36 |
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| Record created | August 19, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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