Esther Scroll with Blessings Leaf, Written by an 11-Year-Old Boy – Split, Croatia, 19th Century – Wooden Handle with Silver Decorations

Esther scroll with accompanying blessings leaf. Split, Dalmatia, present-day Croatia, [19th century].

Ink on parchment;

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Esther Scroll with Blessings Leaf, Written by an 11-Year-Old Boy – Split, Croatia, 19th Century – Wooden Handle with Silver Decorations

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Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art

Sep 1, 2026

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Esther Scroll with Blessings Leaf, Written by an 11-Year-Old Boy – Split, Croatia, 19th Century – Wooden Handle with Silver Decorations

Opening: $1,500

Sold for: $4,500

Including buyer's premium

Esther scroll with accompanying blessings leaf. Split, Dalmatia, present-day Croatia, [19th century].

Ink on parchment; turned wood; engraved silver; silver filigree (unmarked, apart from a Dutch standard mark in use 1814-1906 on top crown ornament).

Especially long Esther scroll, written on 12 parchment membranes sewn together, 34 text columns, 14 lines per column, with serifs (Tagim). Edge of tab at beginning of scroll artistically cut. An accompanying leaf contains the blessings recited before and after the Megillah reading.

Large, elaborate wooden roller, decorated with two silver rings. The bottom ring is engraved with a colophon: "By me, the young writer Refael Yosef Ashkenazi, eleven years old, here in Spalatro [Split]". The handle is surmounted with a large crown-shaped ornament, topped by an ornament cast as a swan.

The scroll is designed and shaped in a manner reminiscent of Italian Esther scrolls on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, especially Esther scrolls with decorated handles from Rome (the scribe, Refael Yosef Ashkenazi, almost certainly had family origins in Italy). Nonetheless, it should be noted that the Croatian provenance is uniquely rare, as Judaica objects of such overt Croatian origin are quite uncommon. The first-person testimony of the scribe's age is particularly interesting. His young age is in fact discernible in the somewhat unsophisticated form of some letters (especially Dalet, Mem, Peh and Shin); however, the scroll as a whole – with its large letters, lengthy size and decorated handle – is highly impressive.

Height of parchment: 22 cm. Overall good condition. Tears to cut tab at beginning of scroll. Lacking fabric fastening lace. Some stains. Folding marks between columns. Vertical tear approx. 14 cm long to 11th membrane, with amateur tape repairs. Scroll not sewn to handle.

Blessings leaf: 13.5X32.5 cm. Good condition. Some creases and folding marks. Light stains. Height of handle: 44.5 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures to filigree. Slight corrosion to top swan ornament. Minor fractures and old soldering repairs (ornament affixed with long screw, screw possibly non-original).

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