Text column no. 13 (sheet no. 3) surrounded by the hand-painted decoration. The roundel in the upper margins contains a bust of the king and in the frame, in the lower margin, possibly Mordecai before the king is depicted (possibly Es. 8:1 or Es. 8:15). The scene is not based on the prototype.
The text column is flanked by pillars surmounted by a bust of crowned women - Esther and Vashti? (on the right) and a putto with a basket on his head (on the left - sheet no. 4). Below the pillars, a depiction of a ship (on the right) and a building (on the left) appear.
| Cod. Levy 160
H | House
P | Putto (Putti in Plural)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Ahasuerus, the king
B | Basket | Basket with flowers
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai before Ahasuerus in royal apparel (Es. 8:15)
| (?)
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing 16 columns of the text with 22 lines, except for col. 14 with 11 lines divided into two parts.
The text is inscribed the square Hebrew Ashkenazi script with tagim, in black ink, on parchment sheets.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its size and form (it is decorated with scrolling feet and tagim placed on both ends of the roof). The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged too. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 14.
The letters in the Tetragrammaton are marked by short strokes bent to the right.
There are some erasures and corrections in the text.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched.
None
The stickers with the name of the collection and the manuscript's number on the right edge of the first membrane are placed. There are also a calculation of the date (?) and a stamp on it.
Falk Wiesemann, Codex Levy 160, [in:] Irina Wandrey ed., Manuscript Cultures, vol. 6, 260-262.
Ernst Róth, Hans Striedl, Die Handschriften der Sammlung H. B. Levy an der Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg. Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, vol. VI, 3, Wiesbaden 1984, no. 9.
Images of the scroll are available on https://resolver.sub.uni-hamburg.de/kitodo/PPN893258369 (accessed on 24.09.2020).