Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art

May 12, 2026

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Lot 1 Decorated Shiviti Plaque, With Illustration of Temple Vessels – Italy, Ca. 1800 – The Durante family of Ancona

Parchment leaf, Shiviti plaque with illustrations of the Temple vessels, verses, Holy Names and kabbalistic letter permuta

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Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $1,000

Sold for: $3,000

Including buyer's premium

Parchment leaf, Shiviti plaque with illustrations of the Temple vessels, verses, Holy Names and kabbalistic letter permutations. [Italy, probably Ancona, ca. 1800].

Ink and paint on parchment; wooden frame.

Small colorful parchment plaque, surrounded with frames featuring verses relating to the Tabernacle and menorah (Tehillim 28:8, Bamidbar 8:4) and the initials of Ana BeKoach. The decorations include three crowns (symbolizing the Crown of Torah, Crown of Priesthood and Crown of Kingship) one on top of another, a seven-branched menorah with the verses of Lamnatzeach, the Ark of the Covenant topped by the Tablets of the Law and cherubs on both sides, the table of showbread, the altar, a vessel for incense, a pair of hands spread out for the priestly blessing and tongs and censers. Holy Names and verses incorporated within decorations in minute handwriting.

According to an enclosed leaf (Italian), the present plaque was passed down by the Durante family of Ancona, and was evidently produced at the beginning of the 19th century.

For very similar plaques on paper, see Beinecke library, University of Yale, Sholem Asch collection, no. +93:14; Sotheby's, New York, December 17, 2013, lot 117.

See also: Sotheby's, New York, December 17, 2020, lot 173; Kedem Auction 101, February 17, 2025, Lot 13.

15.5X10.5 cm. Frame: 21.5X14.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Defects and minor loss of ink and paint. Creases. Remains of pasting to verso. Defects, cracks and holes to frame. The frame is more recent.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 2 Large-Format Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 1731 – Coat-of-Arms of the Perugia Family

Esther scroll with attached sheet of blessings. Italy, inscription dated 5491 [1731].

Ink and paint on parchment; turned

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Large-Format Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 1731 – Coat-of-Arms of the Perugia Family

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Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $800

Sold for: $2,125

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll with attached sheet of blessings. Italy, inscription dated 5491 [1731].

Ink and paint on parchment; turned wood.

Large-format Esther scroll, written on 4 sheets of parchment sewn together, 13 columns of text, mostly 25 lines per column. Attached to the scroll is a matching sheet with blessings over the Megillah reading, as well as the piyyut "Korei Megillah", by the renowned 12th-century Biblical commentator and philosopher, R. Abraham ibn Ezra.

The sheet of blessings is illuminated with colorful illustrations and with vegetal patterns. At the top center of the sheet is the heraldic coat-of-arms of the Perugia family: a pair of rampant lions with a crown between them, which they grasp with their paws. In the emblem’s bottom margin is a handwritten ownership inscription (Hebrew): "This scroll belongs to Eliyah / Aharon Perugia, may his Rock protect and keep him, year 5491 [1731]". Wound around a wooden handle.

Height of parchment sheets: 29 cm. Fair-good condition. Minor stains, small holes, creases, and tears, mostly to first sheet. Open tears to edges and ends of second sheet. Numerous unraveled stitches to sewing between third and fourth sheets. Fourth sheet made of thicker parchment, inscribed with different lettering and in a different hue of ink. Sheet of blessings: 50X28 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, numerous creases, and several small holes. Length of scroll handle: 48 cm. Overall good condition. Minor blemishes. Top ornament missing.

Provenance: Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim of Radin, rare Judaica books, manuscripts, letters and objects of art, Judaica auction at Congregation Gvul Yaabetz, May 10, 1987 (illustrated on cover).

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 3 Decorated Esther Scroll – Italy, 18th Century – Aziz Family

Decorated Esther scroll. Italy, possibly Padua, [18th century], colophon dated 5512 [1752].

Ink and paint on parchment;

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Decorated Esther Scroll – Italy, 18th Century – Aziz Family

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Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $400

Sold for: $2,750

Including buyer's premium

Decorated Esther scroll. Italy, possibly Padua, [18th century], colophon dated 5512 [1752].

Ink and paint on parchment; wood, turned and carved.

Esther scroll written on 5 sheets of parchment sewn together, 14 columns of text, 21 lines per column. Edges of tab at beginning of scroll artistically cut.

This tab bears a large, colorful illustration in the form of a cartouche with an ownership inscription in the middle: "… I, Moshe Asher / son of… R. Meir Aziz / wrote this scroll / in year / 5512 [1752] / …" (Hebrew).

A lengthy parchment tie is sewn onto the tab. All columns of text are bordered with slender rectangular frames painted goldish green. Wound around original wooden handle.

The Aziz (Da Zara) family originates from Padua, northern Italy. Magnificent ketubot belonging to this family, created in Padua in the 17th and 18th centuries, can be found in the collections of the National Library of Israel (Ms. Heb. 901.264=1), and the Israel Museum (B79.1468).

Height of parchment sheets: 15.5 cm. Overall good condition. Few stains. Spots of faded ink. Faded segments re-inscribed later, with ink. Faded paint. Parchment strip attached to tab may be somewhat more recent. Height of handle: 28 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures and few fissures.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 4 Large Parchment Esther Scroll – Italy, Early 18th Century

Esther scroll. [Italy, ca. early 18th century].

Ink on parchment; wood, turned and carved.

Large-format Esther scroll

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Large Parchment Esther Scroll – Italy, Early 18th Century

5 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $700

Sold for: $938

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll. [Italy, ca. early 18th century].

Ink on parchment; wood, turned and carved.

Large-format Esther scroll, in Italian Stam script, on 8 parchment membranes sewn together, 31 text columns, 17 lines per column. Rolled on decorated wooden handle, with crown at top.

Parchment leaf enclosed, with blessings over Megillah reading.

Height of parchment: 34 cm. Maximal height with handle: 62.5 cm. Blessings leaf: approx. 19X15 cm. Fair condition. Stains, wear and tears. One membrane slightly detached. Fading of ink to most of text. Corrections and omitted words added between lines. Wooden roller in good condition. Small open fractures. Small hole to top.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 5 Colorfully Decorated Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, ca. 1800

Decorated Esther scroll. Italy, possibly Ancona, ca. 1800.

Ink and paint on parchment; turned wood.

Esther scroll, wr

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Colorfully Decorated Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, ca. 1800

4 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $400

Sold for: $3,250

Including buyer's premium

Decorated Esther scroll. Italy, possibly Ancona, ca. 1800.

Ink and paint on parchment; turned wood.

Esther scroll, written on 4 sheets of parchment sewn together, 14 columns of text, 20 lines per column. Edges of tab at beginning of scroll artistically cut.

The tab bears a large, colorful illustration in a yellow and red vegetal pattern. Yellow-and-red rectangular frames border the entire text of the scroll. An additional large, colorful, matching illustration appears on the tab at the end of the last sheet of the scroll. A sheet of blessings over the reading of the Megillah (unillustrated) is attached to the scroll. Original wooden handle.

Height of parchment sheets: 20 cm. Overall good condition. Few stains and slight wear to beginning of scroll. Open tear to leading edge of first sheet. Missing tie, formerly attached to leading tab. Sheet of blessings: 16X23 cm. Overall good condition, creases and few stains. Height of handle: 35 cm. Minor blemishes. Small ornament missing from upper tip (?).

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 6 Small-Format Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 19th Century

Esther scroll. [Italy, 19th century or earlier].

Ink on parchment; turned wood.

HaMelech ("The King") Esthe

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Small-Format Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 19th Century

3 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $250

Sold for: $813

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll. [Italy, 19th century or earlier].

Ink on parchment; turned wood.

HaMelech ("The King") Esther scroll (i.e., most columns headed with the word HaMelech), in small format. Written on 7 sheets of parchment sewn together, 29 columns of text, 15 lines per column. Edges of tab at beginning of scroll artistically cut; a silk green ribbon for tying up the scroll is tied onto this tab. A matching sheet of blessings – including the blessings over the Megillah reading, and the piyut "Korei Megillah" – is attached to the scroll.

Wound around original wooden handle.

Height of parchment sheets: 9 cm. Good condition. Spots of faded ink. Last sheet (containing last column of text) more recent. Sheet of blessings: 22X6.5 cm. Good condition. Creases. Length of handle: 14 cm. Fair-good condition. Bottom portion broken off and missing.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 7 Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 19th Century

Esther scroll with attached sheet of blessings. Italy, [19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment; wood, lathed and carv

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Esther Scroll with Attached Sheet of Blessings – Italy, 19th Century

3 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $400

Sold for: $2,125

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll with attached sheet of blessings. Italy, [19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment; wood, lathed and carved.

Esther scroll written on 10 sheets of parchment sewn together, 43 columns of text, 11 lines per column. Enlarged initial for opening Hebrew word "VaYehi" decorated in gold. Small illustration of a branch with flowers on tab attached to leading edge of first sheet. A matching sheet of blessings – including the blessings over the Megillah reading, and the piyut "Korei Megillah" – is attached to the scroll. Blessings and piyutim are enclosed in frames in the form of arches supported by architectonic columns, painted yellow, red, and blue. Wound around original wooden handle.

Height of parchment sheets: 9-9.5 cm. Overall good condition. Stains and spots of faded ink (mostly to upper margins). Faded words and verses re-inscribed later, with ink. Parchment tie detached. Open tear to leading edge of first sheet, professionally mended. Sheet of blessings: 33X9 cm. Good condition. Stains, spots of faded ink and paint, and creases. Length of handle: 24.5 cm. Good condition. Few open fractures.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 8 Small-Format Decorated Esther Scroll – Italy, 19th Century

Decorated Esther scroll. [Italy, 19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Small format Esther scroll, written on 7

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Small-Format Decorated Esther Scroll – Italy, 19th Century

3 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $400

Sold for: $2,125

Including buyer's premium

Decorated Esther scroll. [Italy, 19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Small format Esther scroll, written on 7 sheets of parchment sewn together, 66 columns of text (+ column of blessings over the Megillah reading at beginning + 6 additional columns at the end, containing the final blessings as well as the piyut "Korei Megillah"), 10 lines per column.

All columns of text enclosed in slender decorative rectangular frames painted yellow. A matching but undecorated sheet of blessings is attached to the scroll. Wound around original handle surmounted by original crown-like ornament.

Height of parchment sheets: 7 cm. Good condition. Few creases and stains. Sheet of blessings: 23X6.5 cm. Good condition. Height of handle: 18.5 cm. Good condition.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 9 Miniature Esther Scroll with Sheet of Blessings and Handle Decorated with Pearls – Italy, Ca. 1900

Esther scroll, wound around handles set and lined with pearls. [Italy, ca. 1900].

Ink on parchment; wood, turned and var

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Miniature Esther Scroll with Sheet of Blessings and Handle Decorated with Pearls – Italy, Ca. 1900

4 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $250

Sold for: $1,375

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll, wound around handles set and lined with pearls. [Italy, ca. 1900].

Ink on parchment; wood, turned and varnished; pearls.

Esther scroll in miniature format, written on 4 sheets of parchment sewn together, 28 columns of text, 12 lines per column. An undecorated sheet of parchment with the blessings over the Megillah, written vertically, is attached to the scroll. A long parchment tie is sewn onto the leading edge of the first sheet.

The scroll is wound around an original wooden, lathed, black-varnished handle, adorned with two bands of small pearls and with two additional larger pearls at the upper and lower ends.

Height of parchment sheets: 5 cm. Good condition. Few spots of faded ink. Unraveled stitch at the joint of third and fourth sheets. Sheet of blessings: 13X5.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and places with faded ink. Height of handle: 14 cm. Good condition.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 10 Esther Scroll with Original Handle – Italy, ca. 1900

Esther scroll. [Probably Italy, ca. 1900].

Ink on parchment.

Esther scroll written on 8 sheets of parchment sewn toge

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Esther Scroll with Original Handle – Italy, ca. 1900

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Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $300

Sold for: $1,188

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll. [Probably Italy, ca. 1900].

Ink on parchment.

Esther scroll written on 8 sheets of parchment sewn together, 32 columns of text, 14 lines per column. Different types of "tagim" over different designated letters, respectively. Wound around original handle, bearing tapering ornament on top.

Height of parchment sheets: 12 cm. Overall good condition. Few stains. Long parchment tie is glued onto the leading edge of first sheet (not original). Height of handle: 28.5 cm. Good condition. Slight fractures.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 11 Narrative of Book of Esther, Italian Translation – Paper Scroll with Original Wooden Handle – Italy, 1921

"La Meghilà di Estèr, Traduzione e Commento d'un rimator vissuto fra l'otto e il Novecento". [Italy

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Narrative of Book of Esther, Italian Translation – Paper Scroll with Original Wooden Handle – Italy, 1921

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Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $250

Sold for: $475

Including buyer's premium

"La Meghilà di Estèr, Traduzione e Commento d'un rimator vissuto fra l'otto e il Novecento". [Italy], 5681 [1921].

Ink and paint on paper.

Narrative of the Book of Esther, told in Italian and written in rhyme, on 9 sheets of paper glued together, with 24 columns of text.

Handwritten Italian in cursive script. Columns bordered with slender red or blue rectangular frames. Illustrations with vegetal patterns appear on tab at the beginning of the scroll, and following the final column of text. Wound around original wooden handle; upper handle surmounted by crown-shaped ornament.

Height of paper sheets: 16.5 cm. Overall good condition. Several tears, stains, and slight wear to beginning of first sheet. Old repairs involving stickers, at beginning of scroll. Tear to last paper sheet. Height of handle: 39 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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Lot 12 Small-Format Esther Scroll Sewn onto Original Cloth – Probably the Netherlands, 18th/19th Century

Esther scroll. [Probably the Netherlands, 18th or 19th century].

Ink on parchment; blue-colored silk-satin fabric.

S

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Small-Format Esther Scroll Sewn onto Original Cloth – Probably the Netherlands, 18th/19th Century

3 PHOTOS

Auction 108 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art May 12, 2026

Opening: $300

Sold for: $2,250

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll. [Probably the Netherlands, 18th or 19th century].

Ink on parchment; blue-colored silk-satin fabric.

Small-format Esther scroll written on 5 sheets of parchment sewn together, 25 columns of text, 15 lines per column. Different types of "tagim" over different designated letters, respectively, and bold-face emphasis of Holy Names in several places.

Scroll sewn along its entire length onto original bluish-green silk-satin cloth. Wound around original carved wooden handle.

Height of parchment sheets (and cloth): 7 cm. Overall good condition. Stains, creases, and wear to first sheet and to several places on the cloth. Few creases and stains. Text faded in several columns. Height of handle: 20 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes.

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Esther Scrolls and Manuscripts on Parchment

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