Megillah (scroll of Esther) case c. 1965

This Megillah case, a silver cylinder made by Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert, is more than just a container; it's a column of language, each letter individually crafted, and each band a testament to process. The texture is something you can almost feel just by looking at it. The lettering isn't just applied to the surface; it’s carved, etched, as if Wolpert wanted to reveal the words already sleeping inside the metal. It's not about illusion but about the physicality of language, the weight of history and tradition made tangible. The silver isn't polished to a blinding shine; instead, it's got a soft, worn gleam, like something that's been handled and treasured. It reminds me of the way Giacometti would build up his sculptures, layer by layer, revealing the marks of his own hand, the process of becoming. There’s a certain humility in letting the process show, embracing the imperfections, acknowledging that art, like language, is always evolving, never truly finished. It speaks to the heart of what art should be, an ongoing conversation across time, a dance between intention and accident, clarity and ambiguity.