Shalom d’Italia (Mantua, 1618/19 – Amsterdam, circa 1665)
Megillah (scroll) Momigliano
1640s
Watercolored burin engraving, ink inscription on parchment wrapped on wood roll in lathed ivory case, with wood replacings, 22 × 65 cm Casale Monferrato, Museo di Arte e Storia Antica Ebraica, gift of Tiziana Momigliano’s heirs, inv. 295
This megillah is one of the rare examples designed by the renowned artist and engraver Shalom d’Italia (De Benedetti 2019), whose signature “Salom Italia sculp.” can be seen in the initial part, within a cartouche at the bottom. A plaque with the coat of arms of the Coen (or Sacerdoti), who commissioned the scroll, is placed above; it is supported by two angels with trumpets and topped by a feathered helmet. The Hebrew text is inscribed within arches decorated with rich, late-Renaissance iconography, in which the figures of Haman, Esther, Ahasuerus, and Mordechai can be recognized among the columns, repeated twice. In the lower part there are rural and marine scenes that are not consistent with the scroll’s narrative.
AS, OM