Img. ID: 341346
The opening decoration in this scroll is severely damaged; its appearance can be determined solely on the basis of other exemplars.
The scroll opens with a panel containing several narrative scenes from the Esther story. In the central part of its upper register, there is the royal couple seated on the throne with a canopy that is placed on a pedestal. The king and the queen are accompanied by courtiers; on the right stand the princes of Media and Persia (Es. 1:14), and Esther's maidservants stand on the left (Es. 2:9). Below, there are three rectangular frames: the central panel contains the benedictions recited before the Megillah reading, while the panel on the right shows the chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, hanging on two gallows (Es. 2:23). The one on the left depicts Haman and his sons hanging on three gallows (Es. 7:10 and Es. 9:14 or Es. 9:25). The lowest register also contains three episodes (from right to left): Mordecai receiving the clothes from Hatakh (Es. 4:4), Haman leading Mordecai through the streets of Susa (Es. 6:11), and Esther and Mordecai writing letters instructing the Jews to observe Purim (Es. 9:29).
Landscapes nos. 1-3 are printed in the upper margin, and there are three frames with illustrations in the lower margin; as in the case of the opening panel, the depictions incorporated in them can be determined on the basis of other scrolls sharing the same border:
Frame 1: The feast of Ahasuerus (Es. 1:3-8). Six men are seated at a round laden table. Servants are also depicted on either side of the table.
Frame 2: Queen Vashti is strangled by two women standing on either side of her. During the execution, she stands with her arms spread, and her crown lies on the floor. It is relevant to note that the Book of Esther does not mention the fate of Vashti after her refusal of the king's order, and thus the source for this illustration remains unknown.
Frame 3: This frame contains an illustration of the walled city. In the central part of the wall, there is a gate at which a man (Mordecai) is seated (Es. 2:19, 2:21).
Length of the sheets in the scroll: 1) 395 mm, 2) 384 mm, 3) 395 mm, 4) 418 mm.
An average text column: 93x68 mm.
C | Columns
H | Herm(a)
A | Acanthus Leaf
G | Garland
P | Putto (Putti in Plural)
B | Basket | Basket with flowers
V | Vase
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus and the seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:13-15) | Seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Seven maidens given to Esther (Es. 2:9)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Bigthan and Teresh hanged (Es. 2:23)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman and his ten sons hanged (Es. 9:25)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman hanged (Es. 7:10)
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) | Mordecai receiving clothes from Hatach (Es. 4:4)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai's triumph (Es. 6:11)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai and Esther writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' banquet (Es. 1:3-8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Execution of Vashti - strangulation
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai at the king's gate (Es. 2:19 and/or 2:21)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Ahasuerus and Esther, enthroned
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
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The scroll is preserved in a satisfactory state.
The opening decoration and the border on the first membrane - especially on the lower margin - are very poorly preserved; in the initial panel, only the central scene of the upper register is partly visible. This membrane is also seriously crumpled.
Similarly, some parts of the decoration in the lower margins of the third and fourth sheets are damaged.
Some parts of the text are difficult to decipher.
The sheets are sewn together in a not aesthetic manner.
In the benedictions' formulas, only the opening words are legible, the rest of the text is almost invisible.
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 26 lines, except for col. 14 which has 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 the parchment membranes.
On the basis of the picture, it cannot be determined whether the letter ח (Es. 1:6) is marked in any way. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged and bolded. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 14.
The initial word of the Megillah is enlarged and bolded.
The sheets in the scroll are stitched.
The ruling and pricking cannot be determined because they are not visible in the photos.
The benedictions: from their texts, only the initial words ברוך are well visible. They are written in the square script and the letters in them are enlarged and bolded; they seem to be written in darker ink.
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.
The former number of the manuscript is Ms 311.
The Hebrew inscription of the former owner on the blank side of the sheet is placed: הק' וואלף ליב אבילעס מק'ק אטטערסדארף - "The humble Wolf Leib Abeles from the holy community of Ottersdorf".
The scroll was acquired in Brno. It was among the Judaic objects gathered by the Nazis between 1942 and 1945.
The scroll is described 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.
Olga Sixtova, O svitku / Form of the Scroll [katalog k výstavě konané v Galerii Roberta Guttmanna Židovského muzea v Praze od 22. června do 26. července 2006], Praha 2006, 37.
Images of the scroll are available http://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/221264 (accessed on 21.10.2020).
Other scrolls sharing the same or similar pattern are discussed for example in:
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.
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.