Img. ID: 346516
The third and the fourth columns of text (sheet no. 1) are inscribed within a printed border. Below them, the illustrations are depicted:
Frame 3: On the left, a group of people is depicted; they are Esther and other women, servants (?), and guards. Possibly more women are brought to the palace in a carriage drawn by two horses that are shown in the central part of the panel (Es. 2:8).
Frame 4: The scene is difficult for an unambiguous interpretation. On the right, the group of people is shown; they can be maidens that were given to Esther (Es. 2:9) or one of the groups of women who were brought to the king's palace (e.g. Es. 2:19). Similarly, it is difficult to interpret if in the carriage (depicted on the left) Esther is coming or other maidens are brought to the palace.
Length of the membranes in the scroll: 1) ca. 525 mm, 2) 465 mm, 3) 460 mm, 4) 460 mm, 5) min. 525 mm (the membrane is rolled and it is difficult to unroll it in full.
Dimensions of the plate used for printing: ca. 255 x465 mm.
C | Columns
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments | Flower
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
A | Arch
P | Parrot
B | Bird | Hoopoe
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther and maiden(s) are brought to the palace (Es. 2:8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther’s arrival at the palace (Es. 2:8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Seven maidens given to Esther (Es. 2:9)
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
| (?)
The printed border and the text are preserved in very good condition.
The first membrane is seriously damaged (it is stained, there are some losses in it, and the edges are not straight) and yellowed.
There are some stains on the third membrane.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 5 sheets containing a total of 19 columns of the text with 22 lines each, except for col. 16 with 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
The first four membranes contain four columns and the last membrane contains three columns.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian script with tagin in black ink on the flesh side of the parchment membranes that are thick and very stiff. The side of the text and decorations is matte and brighter than the blank side that is rather yellow and more glossy.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is slightly larger and highlighted by its form (it is formed of two elements joined with a roof). The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is slightly bigger too. Enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 16.
The ruling is barely visible.
The pricking is invisible.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched together.
None
The last lunette is blank.
No bibliography on the scroll is available but scrolls sharing the same pattern are discussed for example in:
Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, p. 66-67, object 74.
Mendel Metzger, The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1966, 48/2, 381–432, esp. 416-432 (here the scrolls are called "post-Griselini").
Dagmara Budzioch, The Decorated Esther Scrolls from the Museum of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and the Tradition of Megillot Esther Decoration in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries – An Outline [Polish: Dekorowane zwoje Estery z Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego w Warszawie na tle tradycji dekorowania megilot Ester w XVII i XVIII wieku. Zarys problematyki], Warsaw 2019, 1:135-138.