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© Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Carl von Ossietzky (SUB), Photographer: Unknown, -

Text panels nos. 7 and 8 (sheet 4) surrounded by the hand-painted decoration.

Upper margin:

14. Esther kneeling before the king who extends the scepter to her and she touches it (Es. 5:2). The queen is attended by three maidservants. 

15. The king reclaining in the bed - sleepless night of Ahasuerus (Es. 6:1).

16. A man in a long Oriental gown before the king seated on the throne - Haman advises Ahasuerus how to honor a man he wishes to reward (Es. 6:5-10.

17. Three figures seated at the table - the second Esther's banquet (Es. 7:1).

18. On the left, the king attented by two servants is visible. On the right, a bed on which the queen reclines and a man standing close to her. The scene represents the moment when Ahasuerus returns from the garden and Haman is falling on Esther's bed, begging for his life (Es. 7:8).

Lower margin:

15. Three figures seated at the table - the second Esther's banquet (Es. 5:5-8).

16. On the right, a woman in a long fashionable dress stands between three men whose gestures suggest conversation - an unidentified scene with Esther and Mordecai. The rest of the margins is filled with several mounted men - likely the king's messengers.

Name/Title
SUB Chinoiserie Esther Scroll | Unknown
Object Detail
sheet 4 (text panels 7 and 8)
Settings
Unknown
Date
18th century
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
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: 280x3720 mm.
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
In general, the manuscript is preserved in good condition. Some parts of the decoration are erased or faded. The frames of the panels originally could be painted gold but now the color is invisible. The text is very well preserved.
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
Codicology

The scroll is formed of 7 sheets containing 28 columns of the text with 17 lines except for col. 23 with 11 lines divided into two parts. 

Each membrane contains 2 text panels with 4 columns of the text.

The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian script, in black ink, on the flesh side of parchment membranes that is brighter than the blank side that is more yellow.

The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its form (it is formed of two elements joined with a roof) and size (it is larger than an average letter in the scroll). The letter ת is enlarged and bolded (Es. 9:29). Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 23. 

The ruling is slightly visible, in some places only.

The membranes in the scroll are stitched.

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

A similar megillah stored in the Library of Congress, the African and Middle Eastern Division in Washington (no. 038.00.00) is described: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/an-illuminated-megillah-judaic-treasures (accessed on 24.09.2020).

Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
The blank side of the opening part of the scroll, there is a German inscription saying about the previous owner of the manuscript - the Russian prince Vasily Sergeyevich Trubetskoy (d. 1841). The manuscript was given to the Library in 1906.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

Hans-Walter Stork, Falk Wiesemann, Codex hebraicus 345, [in:] Irina Wandrey ed., Manuscript Cultures, vol. 6, 249-252.

Images of the scroll are available on https://resolver.sub.uni-hamburg.de/kitodo/PPN895256576 (accessed on 24.09.2020).

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Author of description
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
M002088