Object Description
A large Russian silver Jewish Megillah case and scroll
Russian, 19th Century
Height 23cm, diameter 7cm
This remarkable piece is a Russian Judaica Megillah scroll and case, relatively large for its size, made with beautifully crafted silver body and pierced dome, and with an elegant and delicate paper scroll that opens up with a handle crafted in the form of a snake. Exemplary of particularly fine and beautiful nineteenth century Russian craftsmanship, the scroll itself is one of the Ketuvim, important writings from the third section of the Hebrew Bible.
This one, the most common, is that of the Book of Esther, which is read on the festival of Purim and tells of the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, a royal vizier of Ahasuerus, the Achaemenid King also known to the Greeks as Xerxes I. A fine collectors piece and one of religious interest, it bears the makers mark and a mark for 84, the quality of the silver used.