Img. ID: 340737
In the upper margin, landscapes nos. 2-4 are printed and in the lower margin frames nos. 14-16. An additional illustration is incorporated into the text column.
Frame 14: Two groups of people are shown, with some of the people in each group looking upwards. This detail suggests that the scene should be interpreted together with the illustration of the hanging of Haman's ten sons (Es. 9:14) which is incorporated in the text column above. On every beam of these gallows, a single body (one of the sons of Haman) is hanged. A high ladder leans against the gallows and on top of it stands an executioner. It seems the people shown below are onlookers who are witnessing the execution.
Frame 15: On the right, two groups of mounted soldiers are shown fighting each other. The clothing of the men on the left suggests that they are the Jews. This is one of the moments in the narrative when Jews battle their enemies but it is difficult to determine which particular episode is illustrated here (Es. 9:5-12). On the left, the royal couple, Esther and Ahasuerus, sit together. However, it is slightly unclear which episode this illustration depicts; it is most likely the moment when Esther pleads with the king for an additional day of fighting (Es. 9:13).
Frame 16: On the right and in the center, a feast commences with musicians and dancing people (of both sexes). One of the dancers is shown wearing typical contemporary clothing for Jews of the time when this scroll was designed, another is wearing a checkered costume, and yet another is wearing a long curly wig. It is unclear whether this illustration depicts the victory feast after the Jews' triumph over their enemies (Es. 8:16-17) or the first Purim feast (Es. 9:17-23). On the left side of the frame, there is an illustration of a ship at sea (this alludes to Es. 10:1).
C | Columns
A | Acanthus Leaf
G | Garland
P | Putto (Putti in Plural)
B | Basket | Basket with flowers
V | Vase
H | Herm(a)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman's sons hanged (Es. 9:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Jews battle their enemies (Es. 9:5-12)
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) | First Purim feast (Es. 9:17-23)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ship(s) going out to sea (based on Es. 10:1)
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In general, the scroll (the text, the decorations, and parchment) is preserved in very good condition.
The opening, blank, section of the scroll is torn.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew preceded with the benedictions recited before the Megillah reading
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing a total of 16 columns of text with 24 or 27 lines each, except for col. 14 with 11 lines divided into two half-columns. Additionally, initial benedictions are written within the opening decoration.
Every sheet contains 4 columns of text.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square script in brown ink on the flesh side of parchment membranes.
The letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29) are highlighted by their size. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 14.
The initial word of the Megillah is enlarged and bolded.
The ruling is made with a hardpoint and is slightly visible.
The sheets in the scroll are stitched together.
The benedictions open with enlarged and bolded words ברוך written separately in the lines. The formulas are inscribed in the square script. Two of them include the ligature of א and ל letters.
None
There are two variants of the scrolls decorated with this pattern that in the Index are marked "I" and "II". In some exemplars, just below the decorative columns, the pedestals with angel's heads and bases were added, therefore, the text panels in these scrolls are higher; this type is marked with "II". Whereas, the rest of the manuscripts containing no pedestals with angel's heads and bases are marked with "I". The latter are more numerous.
The earliest scroll sharing a similar engraved pattern is dated to 1701; this is the megillah BCM 25 from the Braginsky Collection in Zurich (see http://braginskycollection.com/esther-scrolls/; accessed on 22.04.2020).
Similar narrative scenes are included in the scrolls with "portrait medallions" (see in the Index); some of them are their mirror image.
A short description in Spanish and images of the manuscript are available on http://ceres.mcu.es/pages (accessed on 18.10.2020).
Other scrolls sharing the same or similar pattern are discussed for example in:
Jiřina Šedinová, From the Mss. Collections of the State Jewish Museum in Prague. The Scrolls of Esther, „Judaica Bohemiae” 1979, nr 15/2, 79-80.
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 megilot Ester w XVII i XVIII wieku. Zarys problematyki], Warsaw 2019, 1:163-176, 2:41-49.
A Journey through Jewish Worlds: Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books, eds. Evelyn M. Cohen, Emile Schrijver, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Amsterdam 2009, 234-237.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, eds. Emile Schrijver, Falk Wiesemann, Evelyn M. Cohen, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Menahem Schmeltzer, Zurich 2011, 282-283.
Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, 63-64, object 72.
Falk Wiesemann, Codex hebraicus 159, [in:] Irina Wandrey ed., Manuscript Cultures, vol. 6, 257-259.