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Megillah Esther

Megillah Esther

This sterling silver Megillah Esther dates from the nineteenth century. The Megillah is tiny and is about 15 centimeters long, around the size and shape of a baby's rattle. The scroll on which the text is written on is only about eight centimeters high. The text is plain, not decorated. When the scroll is wound, it is invisible inside of the casing. The casing consists of two main parts, the handle and the container. The cylindrical container makes up a little more than half of the Megillah's total height and its diameter is about four centimeters. The middle section of the container is made of plain, smooth silver, except for a row of turquoise stones set in a raised silver wave pattern along the slit into which the text scroll is wound. Above and below this section, the container is decorated with a circular band of silver designs. The band consists of a continuous stream of silver looping waves, bordered on top and bottom by a row of miniature silver spheres. These decorations, and all of the others, are placed on the silver base, rather than carved into it. On the top of the container section is a half sphere, which is decorated only at its summit, on top of which there is a knob. Below the container section is another half sphere, decorated only at its base with designs similar in style to the ones on the container, but shaped like hearts. This lower semi-sphere leads into the handle. The handle is very thin, widening gradually towards its bottom. It is plain except for at the very bottom where it rounds into a half sphere. Here the heart like designs resume.

Megillah Esther
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