The third sheet of the scroll contains 3 columns of the text (cols. 8-10).
Text column no. 8: The only illustration in the scroll that is incorporated in the text column. The text in the panel (a short section that lists the names of the ten sons of Haman that is formed of white letters shown on a black background) is divided into two parts and the empty space between them is filled with high gallows with ten beams and a ladder that leans on it. From each beam one body is suspending and the last of the sons is just hanged by the executioner on the highest beam. A Jew (possibly Mordecai) stands at the gallows and points with his index finger to a man (possibly another executioner) who supports the ladder. Just below the illustration, in the rectangular frame, a long two-story building is shown.
Text column no. 9: The last episode depicted in the scroll shows the royal couple sitting at the table and discussing. The king sits on the throne with a high and decorated canopy and on its pedestal is inscribed in Hebrew: ותנתן דת בשושן - "And the decree was given at Shushan" (Es. 9:14). Esther sits in front of him and at her feet, there is another inscription אם על המלך טוב - "If it pleases the king" (Es. 9:13).
Text column no. 10: is narrower than all other text columns in the scroll and the text in it only in 19 lines is printed. The space below them is filled with an oval medallion topped with a crown from which draperies come out; both lower corners are filled with stylized acanthus leaves. The field of the medallion contains the Hebrew note of the artist.
The colophon of the artist in Hebrew is placed below the last text column. The oval field is framed by pinned curtains topped by a crown, while its lower part is surrounded by acanthus leaves. The inscription bears the name of the artist (Mordecai sofer stam) ben Jozl Sofer), the date (1834), and the place (Nitra). The same details are included in another note from the artist that is included in the horizontal components of the first word in the Megillah formed of enlarged letters. ידעתי גם ידעתי כי אנכי עפר ואפר יי אות לאיש במוני להחפר כי מי אני לעשות לי שם בשם חכם ו וסופר רק היינו טעמא דמגילה והיינו טעמא דסופר להיות הקוק ב בעט ברזל על הנחשת לזכרון לחבצלת השרון אשר ידי תיכון אף זרועי תאמצני וימיני תסעדני בעזר האל אשר עזרני ב''ד מרדכי סופר ס'ת'ם במוה' יוזל סופר ס'ת'ם זצול בש' תקצד לפק פה נייטרא מרדכי סופר סתם מקק נייטרא יעא נעשה ונומר בשנת תקצד ל'פ'ק
B | Buildings
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther asks the king for an additional day of fighting (Es. 9:13)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther asks the king to hang Haman's sons (Es. 9:13)
C | Crown
A | Acanthus Leaf
C | Curtain
|
The scroll is preserved in very good condition.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew with the initial benedictions
The scroll consists of 3 sheets on which 10 text columns are printed.
The initial word of the scroll is formed of decorative letters in which a Hebrew inscription of the engraver is incorporated.
Col. 8 is printed in 11 lines divided into two half-columns. It contains enlarged and diminished letters.
The letters ח (Es. 1:6), ת (Es. 9:29), and the letters of the name of God are enlarged.
The sheets in the scroll are glued together.
The colophon of the artist in Hebrew is placed below the last text column. The oval field is framed by pinned curtains topped by a crown, while its lower part is surrounded by acanthus leaves. The inscription bears the name of the artist (Mordecai sofer stam) ben Jozl Sofer), the date (1834), and the place (Nitra). The same details are included in another note from the artist that is included in the horizontal components of the first word in the Megillah formed of enlarged letters.
ידעתי גם ידעתי כי אנכי עפר ואפר יי אות לאיש במוני להחפר כי מי אני לעשות לי שם בשם חכם ו וסופר רק היינו טעמא דמגילה והיינו טעמא דסופר להיות הקוק ב בעט ברזל על הנחשת לזכרון לחבצלת השרון אשר ידי תיכון אף זרועי תאמצני וימיני תסעדני בעזר האל אשר עזרני ב''ד מרדכי סופר ס'ת'ם במוה' יוזל סופר ס'ת'ם זצול בש' תקצד לפק פה נייטרא מרדכי סופר סתם מקק נייטרא יעא נעשה ונומר בשנת תקצד ל'פ'ק
Another scroll representing the same pattern: MZSL XXIV-M-16 (64.1226), Jewish Museum and Archives, Budapest.
Selected bibliography on other works by Mordecai Sofer of Nitra (Marcus Donath):
Zsuzsanna Toronyi, Héber betűk. Dokumentumok a Magyar Zsidó Levéltárból, Budapest 2012, 35.
Zsuzsanna Toronyi, Markus Donath / Mordecai Sofer Stam of Nitra, [in:] Emile, Schrijver Eds. Windows on Jewish Worlds. Essays in Honor of William Gross, Collector of Judaica, Amsterdam 2019, 246-271.
Ernő Naményi, „Ein ungarisch-jüdischer Kupferstecher der Biedermeierzeit (Markus Donath)”, [in:] Jubilee-Volume in Honour of Prof. Bernhard Heller, ed. A. Schreiber, Budapest 1941, 252‒257.
Alexander Scheiber, „Markus Donath’s Second Misrah-plate”, Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 1973-1974, no. 10, 80–82.
Alexander Scheiber, „Marcus Donath’s Mohel Book”, Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 1979, no. 12, 9–11.
Irina Wandrey, “Codex Levy 45”, Manuscript Cultures 2014, no. 6, 275–279.
Lot 198: A Hungarian Jewel-set Silver-gilt Miniature Torah Crown and Shield, Sotheby's A Treasured Legacy: The Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection. New York 29 April 2013 available on https://www.sothebys.com (accessed on 22.03.2020).