Esther Scroll in Silver Case – Berlin, First Half of the 19th Century

Esther Scroll in Silver Case – Berlin, First Half of the 19th Century

Ink on treated parchment; silver, cast, turned and engraved.
Hallmarks: · Municipal mark of the city of Berlin, featuring the letter "K" (in use in the years 1821-1850) · The letter "A" (in use in the years 1821-1841); · An additional blurred mark.
"HaMelekh" ("The King") Esther scroll, written in Ashkenazi script in black ink, on five sheets, sewn together, of treated parchment, with 22 columns of text, 22 lines per column.
The scroll is housed in a cylindrical silver case, with a pair of scrolling handles on top and bottom. Much of the surface is plain. The decorations consist of delicate vegetal patterns. A ring is attached to the center of the pull bar sewn onto the leading edge of the scroll. The engraved initials "CN" appear on the upper part of the case.

Height of case (incl. scrolling handles): 29.5 cm. Height of parchment sheets: 14 cm. Good condition.

Exhibitions:
1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1162 (four scrolls on loan from Solomon Schloss).
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1024.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above.
3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above.
4. Heirs of the above.
This item appears in the inventory list of the Schloss Collection, dated 1923 (see appendix, pp. 146-148), and is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).