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© Dagmara Budzioch, Photographer: Budzioch, Dagmara, 05.2015

The first text panel (sheet no. 1) is flanked by figures of Ahasuerus (on the right) and Vashti (on the left). Below the figures are medallions with the heads of bearded men who are identified as Carshena and Shethar (the princes listed in Es. 1:14). Above the panel, the first episode from the Esther story is depicted that is the feast of the king (Es. 1:3-8). It shows an elongated table at which four men are seated; on the left, a servant with a tray is approaching. The scene is captioned עשה משתה - "[he] made a feast".

Name/Title
IM Aryeh Leib ben Daniel of Goray Sepia Esther Scroll | Unknown
Object Detail
col. 1
Settings
Unknown
Date
1740s
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Origin
Italy
| (?)
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Israel | Jerusalem | Israel Museum (IM)
| MS 182/175 (B86.0274)
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Ink on parchment + wood
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
The scroll: ca. 210x1820 mm.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- upper margins: 38 mm;
- lower margins: 23 mm;
- text panel (inside): 140x115 mm;
- frames in the lower margins: 35x85 mm;
- heroes of the Purim story: ca. 90 mm (height);
- depiction of the gallows in col. 10: 45x100 mm;
- spaces between the lines: 2 mm.

The roller: 375 mm (height).
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition

In general, the scroll is in good condition but there are some damages to it.

On the blank side of the first sheet, there is a quite large pink stain and a parchment "patch" glued on the membrane. There is a hole in the membrane.

The text is well preserved.

On the second sheet, the illustrations are slightly faded and their captions are barely visible.

Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents

The Book of Esther in Hebrew

Codicology

The scroll is formed of 3 sheets, containing in total 12 columns of the text of 30 lines each. Col. 10 includes 11 lines divided into two half-columns.

Every membrane includes 4 columns of text.

The text is written in Hebrew square script in brown ink on the flesh side of the parchment membranes of medium thickness and stiffness. The side of the text is brighter and matte, while the blank side is more yellow and smooth.

The letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29) are enlarged. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 10.

The text includes numerous elongated and shortened letters.

All letters ח in the scroll are written as composed of two parts.

Only very few corrections can be found in the text.

The membranes in the scroll are stitched together.

The ruling is invisible.

Some small holes can be seen on the bent edges of membranes.

Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon

None

Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks

Every word המלך at the head of the column is decorated.

It seems that both - the ornamentation and text - were executed in the same ink.

The scroll was exhibited on "The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 30th November 1987 - 21st April 1987".

Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance

The scroll from the Stieglitz Collection that was donated to the Museum with the contribution of Erica and Ludwig Jesselson, New York, to American Friends of the Israel Museum.

Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

Chaya Benjamin, The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1987.

The Jewish World 365 Days, from the Collections of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem - New York 2004.

The link to the Museum's website: https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/397972 (accessed on 03.06.2021).

Bibliography on other 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.

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.

Mendel Metzger, The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1966, 48/2, esp. 409, 422-425.

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], Prag 2006, 32-33.

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).

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2021
Author of description
Dagmara Budzioch | 2021
Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
M002863