Miniature Esther Scroll with an Exquisite Filigree-Silver Handle - Turkey, 19th Century

Miniature Esther Scroll with an Exquisite Filigree-Silver Handle - Turkey, 19th Century
Esther scroll, scrolled on a filigree-silver handle. Turkey, 19th century.
Ink on vellum; silver, filigree, partly gilt; coral; velvet fabric; gold metal threads.
5 vellum membranes, 26 columns, 16 rows per column.
Vellum scrolled on an exquisite handle whose height is thrice that of the scroll.
The handle is made entirely of delicate filigree work, decorated with granulation and tiny silver diamond-shaped platelets and small flower decorations. Its top part is in the shape of a three-storied crown, above which is a cone topped by a coral. Partly gilt.
A string for fastening at the beginning of the first membrane. Original cover made of blue velvet fabric, embroidered with gold metal threads and fastened with three buttons.
Vellum height: 7 cm, handle height: 32 cm. Good overall condition. Break and bends to handle's bottom tip. Fabric cover: ca. 7X9 cm. Wear to velvet and some unraveling.
See: Esther Juhasz, "Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire" (Hebrew), Israel Museum, 1989, item 23, p. 83; plate 41, p. 209.