Columns of the text nos. 7 (sheet 2) and 8 (sheet 3) are surrounded by a hand-drawn decoration in a pen and brown ink. Between the text panels, full figures of Hatakh, Carshena, Shethar (sheet 3) are placed; they are named in Hebrew. The roundels in the upper margin contain busts of Carcas, Bightan, and Teresh (sheet 3). In the oval frames, in the lower margin can be seen Esther's first banquet with the king and Haman (Es. 5:5) labeled המלך והמן לשתת עם אסתר, Haman leads Mordecai through the streets of Susa (Es. 6:11) together with Haman's daughter who pours dishwater on her father's head (not mentioned in the biblical text) labeled ויקרא לפניו ככה יעשה, the hanging of Haman (Es. 7:10) labeled ויתלו את המן, and the house of Haman (Es. 8:1) labeled בית המן.
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) | Haman's daughter empties a chamber pot on her father's head (Bab. Talmud, Megillah 16a)
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 house (based on Es. 8:1)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Hatach
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Carshena
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Shethar
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Carcas
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Bigthan
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Teresh
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).