Esther Scroll in an Elegant Silver Case – Chester, England, 1853

Esther Scroll in an Elegant Silver Case – Chester, England, 1853

Esther scroll in an elegant silver case, with a matching box. Chester, England, 1853.
Ink on treated parchment; silver (fully marked, including the city, year and maker – the initials JH inside an ellipse, John Hilsby/Helsby), cast, turned and engraved.
Esther scroll, written in Ashkenazic script, black ink, on four treated parchment membranes sewn together, 19 columns of text, 29 lines per column; letters alluding to Holy Names enlarged in several places.
The Megillah is contained in a plain and elegant cylindrical silver case. Two identically-sized handles located on the two ends, decorated with identical vegetal patterns. The case is placed in an original 19th century box, overlaid with brownish-purple leather on the outside, and dark blue velvet and silk lining on the inside.
Silver cases for Esther scrolls from England are rare, and we do not know of any other examples from this period.

Parchment height: approx. 12.5 cm. Good condition. Case height (including handles): approx. 27 cm. Box: 30X6.5 cm, somewhat worn on the outside.

Exhibition: Reise an kein Ende der Welt. Vienna, Jüdisches Museum Wien, 2001, pp. 108-109.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 080.001.029.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 40931.