Miniature Esther scroll. [Israel, ca. mid-20th century].
Ink and paint on parchment; silver, sawed and repoussé (marked with Israeli tax mark – "13" enclosed within Hebrew letter "mem, " in use since 1950s); glass beads; gilt.
"HaMelech" Esther scroll (i.e. most columns headed with the word "HaMelech" – "the king"), miniature format, inscribed on four parchment membranes glued together, 39 columns of text, 11 lines per column.
The scroll is hand-decorated throughout, in shades of yellow, red, blue, green, and brown, with the broad columns of text separated by spiraling architectonic columns with fancy capitals and bases. Above each column of text is a set of three small arches interspersed with a pair of vegetal-patterned decorations.
Housed in a cylindrical silver case decorated with vegetal patterns, and, at center, with an imposing image of a winged "deity" holding a large ring in one hand, while pointing upward with the other arm and hand. This figure may represent Faravahar, ancient Persian symbol of the Zoroastrian religion, or alternatively the Mesopotamian deity Ashur. Case with red glass beads set within the vegetal-shaped ornaments; with undulating upper and lower rims also set with red glass beads; and surmounted by a dome-shaped blue plastic cap in turn surmounted by a flagpole and flag. Conical handle at bottom.
Height of parchment: 3.1 cm. Length of scroll: approx. 215 cm. Height of case (incl. handle and flag): 13 cm. Overall good condition. Some of the glued attachments connecting the adjoining sheets are loose.
For similar Esther scrolls, see: Sotheby’s, December 19, 2007, Lot 200; December 15, 2016, Lot 108. These Esther scrolls were previously dated to the 1920s and 1930s, but a somewhat later dating, to ca. 1950s, seems in order.
Provenance:
1. Oscar and Regina Gruss Collection, New York.
2. Heirs of the above.
The Oscar and Regina Gruss Collection
In 1939, Oscar and Regina Gruss fled their hometown of Lvov (then part of Poland, now in Ukraine), narrowly escaping the Holocaust, and eventually settling in the United States. In the years following the war, they devoted themselves to assembling one of the finest collections of Jewish ceremonial art in the USA, with a particular focus on silverwork and 19th-century Jewish paintings.
Their collection featured masterpieces by celebrated artists such as Isidor Kaufmann, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, and Solomon Alexander Hart. Many of these works were generously donated to The Jewish Museum, New York, while others remained within the family. The paintings in this catalogue are being offered at auction for the first time.
For additional items from the collection of Oscar and Regina Gruss in the present catalogue, see lot nos. 133, 144, 147, 153, 154, 204 and 205.
