Img. ID: 224697
In the upper margin, landscapes nos. 3, 4, and 1 are printed and in the lower margin, there are frames nos. 11-13.
Frame 11: The second banquet given by Esther is depicted (Es. 7:1). Together with the queen, the king and Haman are seated at a table. A servant is approaching the table with a tray.
Frame 12: On the right, on a bed with a canopy reclines Esther. Haman is falling on the bed while he is begging the queen for his life and this happens at the moment when the king returns from the palace gardens (Es. 7:8); he is shown on the right. In the small rectangular window, a gallows is visible; this is the same gallows that Haman built for Mordecai (Es. 5:14) and its presence here suggests the upcoming death of Haman (Es. 7:10).
Frame 13: On the left, a table with three scribes seated at it is shown; most likely they write the decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves (Es. 8:8-10). On the right, two messengers of the king are going to deliver the new decree (Es. 8:14).
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman falling on Esther's bed (Es. 7:8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | New decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves (Es. 8:8-10)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai writing the king's decree (Es. 8:10)
M | C | Columns
L | Landscape
P | Putto (Putti in Plural)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus returns from the palace garden (Es. 7:8)
A | Angel of Death | Angel's head
V | Vase
B | Basket | Basket with flowers
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Gallows built for Mordecai (Es. 5:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' messenger(s) (Es. 8:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman begging for his life (Es. 7:8)
G | Garland
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This image belongs to the ''Ursula and Kurt Schubert Archive'' in the Center for Jewish Art.
The description was made solely on the basis of the images, with no access to the manuscript itself.
There are two variants of the scrolls decorated with this pattern that in the Index are marked "I" and "II". In some exemplars, just below the decorative herms, the pedestals with angel's heads and bases were added, therefore, the text panels are higher; this type is marked with "II". Whereas, the rest of the manuscripts containing no pedestals with angel's heads and bases are marked with "I". The latter are more numerous.
Similar narrative scenes are included in the scrolls with "portrait medallions" (see their descriptions in the Index); some of them are their mirror image.
The earliest scroll sharing similar engraved pattern is dated to 1701; this is the megillah BCM 25 from the Braginsky Collection in Zurich (see http://braginskycollection.com/esther-scrolls/; accessed on 22.04.2020).