Img. ID: 341409
Text column no. 5 is flanked by three depictions of scenes from the text. Illustrations nos. 8 and 9 are on the right, and illustration no. 10 is on the left.
Illustration no. 8 is inscribed ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה ("and [Mordecai] cried with a loud and a bitter cry", Es. 4:1). This scene shows Mordecai in a chequered sackcloth robe, with a scroll in his pocket (likely representing the decree against Jews). He is crying, with both hands lifted up to the sky in anguish. Children behind him cover their ears with their hands. In the background, two Assyrian Lamassu (human-headed winged bulls) statues flank the city gate.
Illustration no. 9 is not captioned. It shows four Jewish men and two women in chequered robes (sackcloth) who are kneeling, crying, and praying (Es. 4:3).
Illustration no. 10 is labeled in Hebrew ותעמד בחצר ("and stood in the [inner] court", Es. 5:1) and depicts the moment when Esther approaches the king's chamber (Es. 5:2). Queen Esther is shown as a bride with a bouquet of flowers, dressed in a long robe and a veil, which is held by a young girl. Behind her stands a crowned guard with a spear. The king sits on the throne placed in a niche, with a dog at his feet, and two guards. The architecture of the king's palace is presented as a mixture of Egyptian (columns, portal) and Assyrian motifs (lions relief on the wall, Lamassu - human-headed winged bulls - at the staircase).
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 3 paper sheets containing 12 columns of the text with 42 lines, except for col. 10 which has 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
The vocalized text of the Book of Esther is printed in Ashkenazi stam script with tagim, in black ink. It reproduces text written by an expert scribe (rather than moveable type) and it shows scribal practices of typical Ashkenazi megillot, such as enlarged and diminished letters in the names of Haman's sons and other enlarged letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29).
A short biography and Geismar's immigration card are available https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/bearing-witness/esther-scroll.asp (accessed on 24.10.2020).
Other copies of the megillah are stored in the Jewish Museum in Prague (inv. nos. 095.541 and 084.999), in the MAHJ in Paris (Inv. 2009.17.015 and Inv. 2000.16.169), in the JTS Library in New York (S282 and S474), belongs to the Gross Family Collection (see ID 35191) and other institutional and private collections.
The images of the scroll are available on http://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/221868 (accessed on 24.10.2020).