Img. ID: 237940
The opening decoration of the scroll (sheet no. 1) is composed of foliate and floral ornaments in which the "Four animals" from Pirkei Avot - "Ethics of the Fathers" (5:20) surround a decorative cartouche which is empty.
The decorative scheme surrounding cols. 1-2 contains arcades that support a balustrade located in the upper margin with pairs of turkeys and roosters flanking the cartouches above each arch. Flower-filled vases atop each column separate these decorative illuminations. The lower margin is filled with figurative scenes that chronicle the narrative of the Book of Esther:
Frame 1 shows the banquet given by Ahasuerus. In the center of the palace gardens, King Ahasuerus sits on the throne under a high canopy at a round table laid with a feast. He is flanked by three men on the right and four men on the left who can be his courtiers (Es. 1:3-8, Es. 1:10). Around the edges of the garden, there are arcaded buildings in which two groups of people sit at tables.
Frame 2 depicts Queen Vashti's feast in the royal gardens (Es. 1:9). Vashti sits under a high canopy at a large round table ready for a feast. Six women accompany her at the table, three on each side. To the right, a group of servants enter the garden through a gate; the first of them appears to be addressing the queen. This most likely represents the servants informing Vashti of King Ahaseurus's order for her to appear before him and his guests at his feast (Es. 1:10-11). The additional scene on the left may depict the moment when Queen Vashti, after her refusal to appear at Ahaseurus's feast, is taken from the palace (alluding to Es. 1:19).
O | Ornamentation: | Architectural frame
C | Columns | Twisted columns
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
A | Animals, the Four (Mishnah, Avot, 5:20)
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
C | Cock (Hen, Rooster)
T | Turkey (bird)
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' banquet (Es. 1:3-8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | King and his courtiers (Es. 1:10)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus and the seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:13-15)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Memucan advises the king regarding the fate of Vashti (Es. 1:19)
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The decorative scheme of Gaster II scrolls shows common features with the Griselini and Griselini-Related scrolls (see "Griselini scrolls" and "Griselini-Related scrolls" in the Index), whereas the narrative scenes are the same as in the scrolls representing Klagsbald type (see IDs 31, 38212).
For another scroll representing the same type of ornamentation see ID 34123.
The scroll may have been accompanied by a decorated benedictions sheet and a bag (or piece of green fabric).
According to the museum card: "Donated by Mrs. Ada and Prof. Gino Sacerdote of Turin in memory of the grandmother Emilia Leblis of Pugliese, born in Casale 1856 and buried there in the old cemetery in 1932." Donated on February 25th, 1996. ["dono dei Sigg. Ada e Prof. Gino Sacerdote di Torino in memoria della nonna Emilia Leblis in Pugliese nata a Casale 1856 e ivi sepolta nel vecchio cimitero nel 1932. di pertinenza del Museo d' Arte e Storia Antica Ebraica di Casale Monferrato e successivamente passato alla Fondazione Arte, Storia e Cultura Ebraica a Casale Monf.to e nel Piemonte Orientale ONLUS"]
The scrolls representing the same or similar pattern are discussed in:
Mendel Metzger, "The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 48:2 (1966), 381‒432.
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, 1:124-134, 322.
The scrolls representing the same or similar pattern are discussed in:
Dagmara Budzioch, The Decorated Megillot Esther in the Moses Gaster Hebrew Manuscript Collection at the John Rylands Library: a comparative analysis with reference to Eighteenth-century Italian scrolls, Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement Series [in print].
Hebrew and Judaic manuscripts in Amsterdam public collections Catalogue of the manuscripts of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, University Library of Amsterdam eds. L. Fuks and R. G. Fuks-Mansfeld, Leiden 1973.