Sheet no. 10 includes 2 columns of text (nos. 28 and 29) within the hand-painted border.
The scene in frame no. 28 depicts two women and two boys. The boy on the left, clothed in a long gown, holds a basket with cookies or fruits (?). Another one, wearing short pants, holds an object that is difficult to recognize, and is handing it to the woman standing on the right. Most likely it depicts sending Purim gifts (Es. 9:22).
Frame no. 29 includes a cartouche with a coat of arms composed of a rampant lion holding and standing on a long palm branch. The oval field is surrounded by a Hebrew inscription in square script:
תם ונשלם ביום י''ב לחדש אדר שנת הר''עא
"Completed on the twelfth day of the month Adar of the year 5271 [1511]"
In the frame beneath the text panel, there is a Hebrew inscription - for its translation see "Colophon".
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- decorations in the lower margins: ca. 50 mm;
- an average text panel: 128x108 mm;
- illustration: 68x110 mm;
- an average letter: 3 mm;
- spaces between the lines: 7 mm;
The roller: ca. 440 mm.
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments
O | Ornamentation: | Ornament
B | Bird
G | Griffin
A | Animals and Beasts
W | Woman | Nude
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Sending portions one to another (Es. 9:22)
P | Purim | Purim celebration
C | Coat of arms
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
|
The Book of Esther in Hebrew accompanied by two separate sheets of benedictions
The scroll comprises 10 sheets containing 29 columns of text with 13 lines each, except for col. 24 which has 11 lines divided into two parts.
Every membrane contains 3 columns of text, except for the last membrane which has only 2 columns.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian-Sephardi script with very high tagin, in brown-black ink, on parchment sheets that are of medium thicknes, though they are not stiff. The side with the text and decoration is brighter. The blank side is very smooth.
The ruling is invisible.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched.
Benedictions sheet no. 1:
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian-Sephardi script.
Every benediction starts with an enlarged word, written separately from the rest of the formula.
The Tetragrammaton is replaced by an abbreviation of two letters י .
On the right edge, pricking is visible.
The final benediction is incomplete.
Benedictions sheet no. 2:
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian-Sephardi script.
Every benediction starts with an enlarged word, written separately from the rest of the formula.
The Tetragrammaton is replaced by an abbreviation of two letters י, a leg of the letter א, and a flag of the letter ל.
In the lower margin, below col. 30, there is the Hebrew note in cursive script by the maker of the scroll:
על פי הגורל יצאה לחלק בני בנימין מקאסטיל \ בולונייסי יום פורים משנת שין עין חית לפק \ מידי היתה זאת צעיר וקט במעשיו משה בן הגאון \ כמהר'ר אברהם פשקרול זלה'ה נכתב פה פיראר' \ יום הששי פרשת ומשה לא ידע כי קרן עור פניו בדברו \ אתו ה' יזכני להתהיל ולהשלים מגילות אחרות רבות
"Chance made it become the property of my son Benjamin, of Castelbolognese, on the Day of Purim 5378. By my hand it is, Moses, the young and humble in his works, son of the Gaon, the highly honoured Rabbi Abraham Pescarol [?], may he be remembered for the world to come; written here in Ferrara the sixth day [of the week] when the text is: And Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone, because he had spoken with him'. May God grant I begin and complete many other megilloth." (translation by M. Metzger, The John Rylands Megillah..., 170 - see "Bibliography").
The artist's family had immigrated from Germany to Italy one generation before Moshe ben Avraham, and some of its members were book printers.
In scholarly literature, different spellings of the surname can be found; the most popular are Pescarol and Pescarolo. Other variants include: Pascarolo, Pascarol ("פַּשְׂקַרוֹל"), Piscarol, Pescarolo, Poscarel, Poscarela, Pescaroli, Pescaraolo. See M. Mortara, Indice alfabetico dei rabbini e scrittori Israeliti, Padova 1886, p. 49.
Some details in the scroll were painted with gold paint, but at present, many of them are rather brown.
Images and a short description of the scroll available at http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk (accessed on 27.08.2020).
This bibliography lists publications on all three currently known megillot Esther made by Moshe ben Avraham Pescarolo:
Florence Mansano Soulam, בסוד מגילותיו של הסופר-המאייר משה בן אברהם פשקרול: ניתוח מגילות פשקרול בתוך הקונטקסט ההיסטורי של איטליה בראשית המאה השבע-עשרה [Unveiling the Secrets of the Scrolls of Moshe Pescarolo Scribe and Artist. An Analysis of Pescarolo’s Scrolls in the Historical Context of Italy in the Early 17th Century], doctoral dissertation: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2006.
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), 148–184, esp. 166–171.
Dagmara Budzioch, The Decorated Esther Scrolls from the Museum of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and the Tradition of Megillot Esther Decoration in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries – An Outline [Polish: Dekorowane zwoje Estery z Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego w Warszawie na tle tradycji dekorowania megillot Ester w XVII i XVIII wieku. Zarys problematyki], Warsaw 2019, 1:89-92.
Dagmara Budzioch, Midrashic Tales in Seventeenth and Eighteenth-century Illustrated Esther Scrolls, "Kwartalnik Historii Żydów” 2017, no 3 (263), 405–422, esp. 408, 410, 411, 414, 415.
Dagmara Budzioch, Italian Origins of the Decorated Scrolls of Esther, "Kwartalnik Historii Żydów" 2016, no 1 (257), 35–49, esp. 40–43.