Select manuscript from this collection: B26  S58 S75  S102  97/107

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Zürich
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Braginsky Collection
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
S60
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Megillah Esther (מגילת אסתר) / Esther scroll
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 1 f. · 16.7 x 167 cm · Venice · around 1675
Language:
Language
Hebrew
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
This hand-written megillah Esther from Venice (type: “Gaster I”, on three sheets with text in 19 columns, all but the last one arranged in pairs), is decorated with a printed and hand-colored decorative border; it can be dated circa 1675 based on almost identical Esther rolls that are dated. This decorative technique was first used in Rome in the late 16th century and later, especially in the 18th century, was widely used in Venice and Amsterdam. Polylobed cartouches below and above the text depict scenes from the Book of Esther. (flu)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bc-s-0060 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bc-s-0060)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
http://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/s-0060
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop http://www.e-codices.ch/metadata/iiif/bc-s-0060/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Zürich, Braginsky Collection, S60: Megillah Esther (מגילת אסתר) / Esther scroll (http://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/s-0060).
Online Since:
Online Since
10/08/2020
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
17th century
Decoration:
Decoration
Figurative, Fully Painted, Margin, Ornamental
Liturgica hebraica:
Liturgica hebraica
Megillah
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e-codices · 07/16/2020, 15:36:38

Die ungefähre Datierung dieser Rolle ins Jahr 1675 basiert auf nahezu identischen datierten Rollen. Während der Text nach wie vor von Hand geschrieben ist, wurde der Zierrahmen gedruckt und handbemalt. Dadurch liess sich das Herstellungs­verfahren vereinfachen und beschleunigen. Zugleich konnten die Kosten gesenkt werden, auch wenn der Pergamentdruck nicht gerade billig war. Die Verwendung gedruckter Schmuckrahmen kam im späten 16. Jahrhundert in Rom auf und gelangte später nach Amsterdam und Venedig, den beiden wichtigsten Zentren der Produktion illustrierter Megillot im 18. Jahrhundert.
Abgesehen vom letzten Abschnitt ist der Text in paarweisen Kolumnen geschrieben. Ober­ und unterhalb der Textfelder zeigen die ausgebuchte­ten Kartuschen eine oder mehrere Szenen aus der Esther-­Erzählung. In der kunstwissenschaftlichen Literatur werden Megillot mit gedruckten Schmuckrahmen dieses Typs als «Gaster I» bezeichnet.
Inmitten der grossen Blätter­- und Blütenorna­mente am Anfang und am Ende der Rolle halten je zwei Löwen ein Schild für allerdings nicht ausge­führte Embleme. Die vier Tiere in den Randzonen der vorderen Partie mahnen an die für alle Juden geltende Verpflichtung, die göttlichen Gebote und die religiösen Riten – so auch das Lesen der Megilla – genau zu befolgen gemäss den Worten in den «Sprüchen der Väter» (Pirke Avot 5:23): «Sei stand­ haft wie der Leopard, leicht wie der Adler, ink wie der Hirsch und stark wie der Löwe, den Willen deines Vaters im Himmel zu erfüllen».

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 262.

e-codices · 07/08/2020, 16:32:55

This fine Venetian scroll is an example of an Italian megillah with an engraved and hand-colored border. It can be dated circa 1675, based on inscriptions found on two identically engraved scrolls, one dated 1673 and the other 1680.
Four animals are placed around the perimeter of the initial oral border: a leopard, an eagle, a deer, and a lion. These animals are a reference to the passage from the Mishnah that counsels Jews to be “bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion to do the will of God” (Pirkei Avot 5:23). Although there does not appear to be
a direct connection between this teaching and the story of Purim, the artist may have chosen to include these iconic animals as a visual reminder that one must perform the commandment of reading the megillah with alacrity. The foliate designs at the beginning and end of the scroll include an oval that was provided for the addition of a family emblem, which has been left blank in this example.
The first eighteen text columns are paired; each pair is flanked by a decorative panel. At the end, a single column is treated in the same way. Above each unit a polylobed frame presents a scene, or scenes, from the Esther story. This scroll is of a type known in scholarly literature as “Gaster I.” It is an early example of megillot that share similar engraved borders printed in Italy between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
In addition to illustrating Esther scrolls by hand, artists sometimes designed decorative engraved borders to be printed on parchment; many were subsequently hand-colored. Scribes then copied the text of the book of Esther within the printed borders, producing a scroll fit for ritual use. This technique increased the availability of beautiful megillot by reducing cost and shortening the time needed for production. The practice of creating engraved borders for scrolls began in Rome in the late sixteenth century. Despite the technical difficulty and expense associated with printing on parchment, in the seventeenth century the tradition spread to Amsterdam and Venice, two of the most important centers of Hebrew printing in Europe. In these two cities during the eighteenth century there was a sizable surge in the production of Esther scrolls with engraved, hand-colored borders.

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. 240.

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Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 262.

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. 240.

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