Img. ID: 341468
Sheet 1 (text panels 2 and 3)
Cartouche 3 (upper margin): On the right, the bearded Ahasuerus sits on his throne and is accompanied by the seven princes of Persia and Media. He holds a scepter in his left hand and his other hand points to a man, probably Memucan, who stands before him. Six more men stand behind Memucan and a soldier holding a shield stands behind the king's throne. This scene shows the moment when the king asks his advisers what they think the fate of Vashti should be (Es. 1:13-20). On the left, two king's messengers ride on horseback towards a city in the background (Es. 1:21-23).
Cartouche 4 (lower margin): At the center of this cartouche, a group of women is brought to the king's court (Es. 2:1-4). They are led by a man wearing a turban (most likely Hegai) who holds the first one's hand (Es. 2:8). A carriage drawn by two horses can be seen in the background on the left.
Cartouche 5 (upper margin): In the center, the bearded Ahasuerus, shown here wearing a turban, is seated on the canopied throne, flanked by eight men also in turbans who sit on benches. Both of the king's hands are outstretched: in one of them, he holds a crown which he is about to place on the head of Esther, who kneels before him. Behind her, four women stand (Es. 2:17).
Cartouche 6 (lower margin): On the right, Mordecai is shown wearing a turban, standing within a gate in the wall, and looking at two men who are probably Bigthan and Teresh (Es. 2:21). On the left, Haman is approaching Ahasuerus who is sitting on a raised throne with a canopy. The king holds a scepter in one hand and a ring in the other, which he gives to Haman (Es. 3:10). A man wearing a turban stands behind the throne. In the center of the cartouche, there is a fountain.
The length of the sheets in the scroll: 1) 525 mm, 2) 515 mm, 3) 535 mm.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- upper and lower margins: 42 mm;
- endless knot pattern: 32x42 mm;
- cartouche with a narrative scene(s): 28x910 mm (inside);
- text panel: 81x102 mm;
- text column: 73x47 mm;
- space between text columns: 4 mm;
- margins around the text column: 5-6 mm;
- an average letter: 2 mm;
- letters in the Haman's sons section: 4 mm.
The roller: 280 mm.
O | Ornamentation: | Endless knot
A | Animals and Beasts
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus and the seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:13-15)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Memucan advises the king regarding the fate of Vashti (Es. 1:19)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus' messenger(s) (Es. 1:22)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Hegai taking Esther and the maiden(s) to the palace (Es. 2:8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Coronation of Esther (Es. 2:17)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai with Bigthan and Teresh (Es. 2:21)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus handing his ring to Haman (Es. 3:10)
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The state of preservation of the subsequent sheets differs.
In general, the decoration of the second membrane is preserved in worse condition than on the first one.
The text in the scroll is well preserved.
The second and third sheets are stitched very loosely.
The blue paint is very poorly preserved.
The sheets are stained in several places.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 3 sheets containing 19 columns of the text with 22 or 23 lines, except for col. 16 with 11 lines divided into two parts.
The number of text columns per sheet: sheet no. 1 - 6, no. 2 - 8, no. 3 - 5.
The text is inscribed in a Hebrew square Italian script, in intense black and slightly shiny ink, on the flesh side of parchment sheets which are bright and matte - though their other side is more yellow and smooth.
On the 3rd membrane, a double layer of ink is visible on the letters.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is slightly larger than an average letter in the scroll. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is also enlarged; it is 3 mm high. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 16.
The word ויעש written in brown ink and in a different hand-writing is added in col. 10 (on the floral ornament). Several lines below, one more word - המלך - was added.
The left margins of several columns are not straight.
The ruling made with a stylus is slightly visible.
The pricking can be discerned on the blank side of the scroll.
None
The name "Gaster I" was introduced by Mendel Metzger in his article entitled "The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth" (see "Bibliography"). The type was named after Moses Gaster (1856–1939), the rabbi, scholar, and manuscript collector, who owned a scroll adorned with this pattern (at present this is the scroll Gaster Hebrew MS 710 stored in the John Rylands Library in Manchester - ID 36150). At least 25 manuscripts representing this type are still extant and are preserved in private and institutional collections. For their descriptions see "Related objects".
The pattern features a number of decorative elements common with the scrolls of Klagsbald type.
On the blank side of the opening section of the scroll, there is an inscription in the Latin alphabet: "Liber Ester Hebraice".
Eye-catching yellow details that are especially well visible on the 2nd sheet are the characteristic feature of this scroll.
Originally the endless knot patterns and cartouches' frames were painted gold but only some remains of the color are still visible; at present these details are rather green.
The right edge of the first sheet is trimmed into a multifoil.
The first sheet differs from the remaining two membranes; the border on it is printed in black ink and the text is written in 23 lines.
The manuscript has been stored in the library at least since the 1840s. It is listed by Bartolomeo Secco Suardo in "Catalogo generale della pubblica Biblioteca comunale della regia Città di Bergamo" that was written in 1840.
Bibliography concerning the scroll from the Mai Library:
Panoramic image of recto and verso sides of the manuscript available on the website of Biblioteca Digitale Lombarda: https://www.bdl.servizirl.it/bdl/bookreader/index.html?path=fe&cdOggetto=6002#mode/1up (accessed on 29.09.2020).
Detailed description in Italian and images available on https://www.effettobibbia.it/il-rotolo-di-ester (accessed on 29.09.2020).
Selected bibliography concerning other scrolls decorated with the same border:
Mendel Metzger, The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1966, 48/2, 381–432.
Cornelia Bodea, Treasures of Jewish Art. The 1673 Illuminated Scroll of Esther Offered to a Romanian Hierarch, Iaşi–Oxford–Palm Beach–Portland 2002.
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, 240-241.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, eds. Emile Schrijver, Falk Wiesemann, Evelyn M. Cohen, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Menahem Schmeltzer, Zurich 2011, 262-263.
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, 1:99-119, 2:64-69.
Dagmara Budzioch, "An Illustrated Scroll of Esther from the Collection of the Jewish Historical Institute as an Example of the Gaster I Megilloth," Kwartalnik Historii Żydów 2013, no. 3 (247), 533–547.