Decorated Miniature Esther Scroll, [Jerusalem: ca. 1925]

Scroll (2¾ x 66 in.; 70 x 1680 mm). Ink, gouache and shell gold on parchment. Written in square Hebrew script ornamented with taggin; each column enframed with floral and architectural motifs surmounted by pairs of birds which flank images the twelve tribes and musical instruments drawn on a circular gold background; along the lower border lions enclosed within hemispheres are set against a background of lushly colored flora and berries. Small loss at foot of first column not affecting the text. Housed in a silvered metal box form cast from an eighteenth-century Italian bookbinding.

Scroll (2 3/4 x 66 in.; 70 x 1680 mm). Ink, gouache and shell gold on parchment. Written in square Hebrew script ornamented with taggin; each column enframed with floral and architectural motifs surmounted by pairs of birds which flank images the twelve tribes and musical instruments drawn on a circular gold background; along the lower border lions enclosed within hemispheres are set against a background of lushly colored flora and berries. Small loss at foot of first column not affecting the text. Housed in a silvered metal box form cast from an eighteenth-century Italian bookbinding.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The foundation of the Bezalel school In 1906 by Boris Schatz (1867-1932) must be considered the beginning of genuine artistic activity in the Land of Israel in modern times. The new aesthetic was certainly informed by the European traditions that various Jewish artists brought with them to the Holy Land, but it was also a product of the nationalist Zionist consciousness that was pervasive in the hearts and minds of these new arrivals to the Land of Israel. The execution of this vividly colored scroll was informed by the artistic creativity of the Bezalel school  and is an example of the marriage of liturgical functionality and decorative art being produced in the Land of Israel in the first decades of the twentieth century.