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© Dagmara Budzioch, Photographer: Budzioch, Dagmara, 3.2015

Illustration no. 6 (sheet no. 3, below text panel no. 4) depicts a figure of a man standing between the trees. He wears a costume contemporary to the manuscript's maker but the depiction lacks any characteristic feature or attribute that prevents recognition of the figure. The panel is flanked by sunflowers and above them, a figure of the king (on the right) and a messenger (on the left) are depicted. Possibly he is one of the king's messengers delivering Haman's decree (Es. 3:13).

Name/Title
MAHJ Esther Scroll with Sunflowers | Unknown
Object Detail
col. 4 (lower part)
Settings
Unknown
Date
18th century
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
France | Alsace
| (?)
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
France | Paris | Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme Paris (MAHJ)
| inv. D.98.04.077.CL (former number Cl 17503)
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Ink and paints on parchment
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
The scroll: 225x1975 mm.
The length of the sheets in the scroll: 1) 250 mm, 2) 435 mm, 3) 650 mm, 4) 640 mm.
An average letter is less than 2 mm high.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- text column - 75x110 mm;
- illustrations - ca. 70x110 mm;
- panels with roundels - 65x60 mm;
- panels with sunflowers - 65x60 mm;
- panels with figures - 75x60 mm.
All details are framed by lines that are 2-3 mm wide.
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
In general, the manuscript is preserved in very good condition but the first membrane is especially well preserved. The decorations are in better condition than the text that is faded. The details painted blue are in the worst condition. In the first illustration, in the lower part of the dress of the kneeling Queen Vashti, a small parchment patch is glued underneath the membrane. It is painted blue and barely visible.
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents

The Book of Esther in Hebrew with initial benedictions and inscriptions in Yiddish

Codicology

The scroll is formed of 4 membranes containing 9 text columns (+ a column with the initial benedictions) with 19 lines. The consistent layout of the text is disturbed in the lower-right corner of the text panel no. 8 in which the section listing the names of Haman's sons (Es. 9:6-10) written in 11 lines divided into two parts is incorporated; the graphic solution that is unique for this megillah. The letters in this fragment are slightly larger than in the rest of the text in the scroll. 

The text is written in dark brown ink, in the Ashkenazi square script on the parchment membranes that are thin, delicate, rather suede and soft. The first membrane, which is the later addition to the manuscript, is different because it is thin but stiffer and brighter than the others; it is in the color of ivory while all other membranes are more yellow.

The enlarged and diminished letters are visible in text panel 8, in the additional column including the names of Haman's sons. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is also enlarged.

There are small spaces between the subsequent lines of the text; due to this and the size of the letters, the text is rather dense.

The ruling is invisible.

The membranes are glued.

Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
None
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks

Due to the details present on the first membrane (see description of "sheet 1"), it can be assumed that it was created not earlier than in 1818, possibly in France. It seems that it is a later addition to the 18th-century scroll. 

The membranes are glued which was a less popular method of joining the sheets in the scrolls than stitching.

The garments in which the figures are depicted represent Western European fashion.

In two places inscriptions in the Latin alphabet are written in pencil.

The scroll is displayed at the Museum's permanent exhibition.

A "sister" scroll was sold at the Sotheby's auction Important Judaica Including Property from the Jewish Community of Amsterdam (NIHS) that took place in New York on 13th Decmeber 2006, lot 186 (see "Bibliography").

Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Donated by Hart-Derembourg in 1908.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, 68-71, object 77.

A short description in French and images of the manuscript are available on https://www.mahj.org/fr/decouvrir-collections-betsalel/rouleau-d-esther-50103 (accessed on 25.06.2020).

A short description of a "sister" scroll is available on https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2006/important-judaica-including-property-from-the-jewish-community-of-amsterdam-nihs-n08266/lot.186.html (accessed on 25.06.2020).

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Author of description
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
M001418