Handwritten Hebrew Shema Scroll on Vellum

A small Hebrew scroll written by hand in black ink on white vellum, bearing the Shema, the prayer proclaiming the unity of God and devotion to His commandments. At 60 × 54 mm it was made to be carried: such scrolls served as personal amulets or as the insert within a mezuzah case, in keeping with long tradition.

The script is finely drawn and nicely preserved. The scroll was acquired in Istanbul in the 1980s; its place of origin is not documented, though a Middle Eastern source is possible and the era is estimated as pre-twentieth century.