The next intercolumnar space is filled with a composition formed of a vine sprig, a demon (?), and a fantastic bird (?). In the subsequent space, a bird and a grotesque figure are painted.
| inv. D.98.04.078.CL (former number Cl 12263)
| inv. D.98.04.078.CL (former number Cl 12263)
The spaces between the text columns are not of equal width; they are ca. 25, 30 mm wide.
An average letter is ca. 4 mm high, whereas the letters in col. 21 are 8 mm high.
Dimensions of the opening decoration - 155x60 mm.
The scroll is formed of 8 sheets containing 25 text column with 17 or 18 lines, except for col. 21 with 11 lines divided into two parts.
The text is copied in Sephardi script with tagim, in black ink.
The enlarged and diminished letters are present in col. 21. Whereas the letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29) are not highlighted.
The parchment of the sheets is of medium thickness and stiffness. Both sides of the sheets are similar to each other and it is difficult to distinguish between their flesh and hair sides. The recto side is more smooth.
The ruling is visible but the first lines in the columns and vertical lines are particularly well visible. On the sheets' edges, the pricking can be seen.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched.
The spaces, where two sheets are stitched, are not decorated.
The text is not copied in the ha-melech layout but some text columns start with this word.
It is very likely that the upper and lower margins were trimmed. Possibly they were fitted to a rod on which the scroll is rolled. The edges of the sheets are not straight.
It can be noticed that in some places the painted details are put on the letters; this confirms that the decoration is a later addition to the scroll.
Only very few megillot Esther are decorated with the biblical scenes that are not related to the Book of Esther; see ID...
The scroll is displayed on the permanent exhibition of the Museum.
The former number of the manuscript (12263) is inscribed in ink on the last sheet, after the last text column.
Synagoga. Kultgeräte und Kunstwerke von der Zeit der Patriarchen bis zur Gegenwart, Städtische Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, 3. November 1960 – 15. Januar 1961, ed. Anneliese Schröder, Recklinghausen 1961, object B 52.
Synagoga. Jüdische Altertümer Handschriften und Kultgeräte. Historisches Museum Frankfurt am Main, 17. Mai – 16. Juli 1961, Frankfurt am Main 1961, object 117.
Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, 70-71, object 78.
Mendel Metzger, The John Rylands Megillah and Some Other Illustrated Megilloth of the 15th to 17th Centuries, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1962, 45, 171-173.
A short description in French and an image of the manuscript are available on https://www.mahj.org/en/decouvrir-collections-betsalel/rouleau-d-esther-50074 (accessed on 22.04.2020).