Between Queen Esther and Marie-Antoinette: Courtly Influence on an Esther Scroll in the Braginsky Collection

Abstract

There is an Esther scroll in the Braginsky manuscript collection (Braginsky Collection Megillah 7) that was produced in Alsace in the second half of the eighteenth century. The manuscript has not yet caught the attention of scholars, and I would like to shed some light on its artistic design in the context of French noble society. Although its illustrations appear naïve, they are typical of other Esther scrolls of that time and place. Based on contemporary art and textual evidence, I focus on the depiction of women in the megillah, and I argue that the scroll portrays an intimate understanding of the cultural ambience and the decorum of Parisian high society and bourgeoisie during Marie-Antoinette’s lifetime.