Scroll of Esther

The holiday of Purim, celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, is a Jewish holiday celebrating salvation from evil decrees. The item most associated with the holiday of Purim is the Book of Esther, which has been customary to write on parchment in the form of a scroll since the Talmudic period.

The earliest known illuminated Esther scrolls are from 16th-century Italy. Cylindrical cases made of copper, tin, wood, silver and even ivory, were often made to house the scrolls.

The decoration and illustration of Esther scrolls, usually depicting the story of Esther in detail set in exquisite landscape or architectural elements, reached its height during the 17th and 18th centuries. Other forms of decoration include the signs of the zodiac and the twelve tribes, Jerusalem, and scenes that reveal the daily life of the Jews of the time.

The art of the illustrated scroll, which declined in the 19th century, was revived in the 20th century by artists of the Bezalel School. Nowadays, young artists follow their path in the art of the hand-illuminated megillah, thereby adding beauty to holiness.