The border design of this Esther scroll is dominated by a baroque
arcade featuring four distinctly patterned columns. The arches are
surmounted by a balustrade that supports flowering urns, blank
medallions, floral scrollwork, and a variety of birds including a
crowned double-headed eagle and a peacock. Scenes from the Esther
narrative are positioned beneath each of the nineteen columns of
text. The engraved border of this scroll was designed by the
Italian scholar, artist, and publisher Francesco Griselini
(1717-1787), whose engraved border designs were popular in Italy in
the eighteenth century. In these illustrations, Griselini has
devoted particular attention to architectural settings and spatial
perspective. The artist’s printed signature is found in the lower
left corner of each membrane. The last scene, placed under the
final arch, is rarely found on illustrated Ester scrolls. It
depicts the Messiah riding on a donkey heralding the return of the
exiled Jewish people back to Jerusalem. The text of this scroll was
penned by the scribe-artist Aryeh Leib ben Daniel. In his
inscription, which follows the concluding benedictions, he informs
the reader that he wrote this scroll in Venice in the winter of
1746.
Place
Preferred form
Venice (Veneto, Italy)
Original form
Venice
Other form
Venise
Venise (?)
Italie (Venise ?).
Venetia
Italy, Venice
Venetian Workshop
[Venice]
Italy, Florentine Venice
Venetian
Venice (Italy)
Hieronymus Mazza, van Venetië (1550) ; Chistophorus Masinus (17e eeuw)
