Columns of the text nos. 1 and 2 (sheet 1) surrounded by a hand-drawn decoration in a pen and brown ink. Between the text panels, full figures of Ahasuerus and Vashti are placed; they are named in Hebrew. The roundels in the upper margin contain busts of Mehuman and Biztha (the king's courtiers listed in Es. 1:10). In the oval frames, in the lower margin can be seen enthroned King Ahasuerus labeled כשבת המלך על כסא and the king's banquet labeled עשה משתה לכל שריו (Es. 1:3).
There is a blank space on the right edge of the first membrane.
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Ahasuerus, the king
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Vashti, the queen
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Mehuman
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Biztha
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' banquet (Es. 1:3-8)
A | Angel | Angel's head
P | Portrait | Portrait medallion
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
F | Flower
B | Bird
|
The manuscript is well preserved, although some parts of the text are lighter and less visible.
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing 12 columns of the text with 34 lines, except for col. 10 with 11 lines divided into two parts and col. 12 with 32 lines.
The number of text columns per sheet: no. 1 – 4, no. 2 – 3, no. 3 – 2, no. 4 - 3.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square script with tagim, in brown ink on the flesh side of the parchment membranes.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is enlarged and decorated with scrolled feet. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged and bolded. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 10.
The letters of the Tetragrammaton are marked with a single taga that is bent to the right.
The ruling - horizontal and vertical lines - is made with a hardpoint.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched together.
None
The former number of the scroll is Ms 313.
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, 32-33.
https://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/221251 (accessed on 7.11.2020).
Bibliography on scrolls made by Aryeh Leib ben Daniel of Goray or attributed to him:
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, 1:206-215.
Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, 64-66, object 73.
Mendel Metzger, The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1966, 48/2, esp. 409, 422-425.
Ernest Namenyi, "The Illumination of Hebrew Manuscripts after the Invention of Printing," in Cecil Roth (ed.), Jewish Art, an Illustrated History (London, 1961), col. 435.
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, 246-249.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, eds. Emile Schrijver, Falk Wiesemann, Evelyn M. Cohen, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Menahem Schmeltzer, Zurich 2011, 266-269.
A Fine Illustrated Esther Scroll, [ca. 1740], lot 105, Sotheby's New York Important Judaica, 20 December 2017 https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.105.html/2017/important-judaica-n09687 (accessed on 31.07.2020).
A Magnificent Esther Scroll Written and illustrated Aryeh Leib ben Daniel of Goray, Schwelm, 1737, lot 187, Sotheby's New York Important Judaica Including Property from the Estate of Shlomo Moussaieff, 15 December 2016 https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/important-judaica-n09589/lot.187.html (accessed on 31.07.2020).