The decorative scheme surrounding cols. 3-7 (sheet no. 1) 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 3 (only partly visible): on the right, Ahasuerus sits on his throne, accompanied by the seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:14). He holds a scepter in his left hand and his other hand points to a man, most likely Memucan, who stands before him. Six other men stand behind Memucan (?) and there is a soldier behind the king's throne. The scene illustrates the moment when the king asks his advisers for advice regarding the fate of Vashti (Es. 1:13-20). On the left, two royal messengers ride on horseback towards a city in the background (Es. 1:21-23).
Frame 4: in the center of this frame, a group of women is brought into the king's court (Es. 2:1-4), lead by a man who is most likely Hegai (Es. 2:8); possibly the first of them is Esther. On the left side of the background, there is a carriage.
Frame 5: in the center, King Ahasuerus is seated on a canopied throne and is flanked by eight men sitting on benches. The King's arms are outstretched and he holds a crown in his right hand. He is about to place this crown on the head of Esther who kneels before him. Behind her stand four women (Es. 2:17).
Frame 6: on the right side of this frame, Mordecai stands by a gate in the wall and looks at two men who are probably Bigthan and Teresh (Es. 2:21). On the left side of the frame, Haman approaches Ahasuerus who is sitting on his canopied throne. The king holds a scepter in one hand and gives Haman his royal signet ring with the other (Es. 3:10). A man, possibly a guard, stands behind the throne. There is a fountain in the center of the cartouche.
Frame 7: on the right side of this frame, a male figure - most likely Haman - dictates the decree against the Jews to a scribe who sits at a table with two other men (Es. 3:12). On the left side of the frame, the crowned Esther stands in a walled courtyard with two handmaidens. A man wearing a turban - possibly her servant, Hatach - is facing her as if they are in conversation and another man in a turban - most likely Mordecai - stands in front of the palace gate in the background (Es. 4:4).
Images of the scroll beyond this point are currently lacking, but are identical to the other Gaster II style scrolls.
O | Ornamentation: | Architectural frame
C | Columns | Twisted columns
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
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 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)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' messenger(s) (Es. 1:22)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Hegai taking Esther and the maiden(s) to the palace (Es. 2:8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Coronation of Esther (Es. 2:17)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai with Bigthan and Teresh (Es. 2:21)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus handing his ring to Haman (Es. 3:10)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Scribe(s) writing Haman's decree (Es. 3:12)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai in front of the palace gate (Es. 4:2)
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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.