Img. ID: 346521
The ninth and the tenth columns of text (sheet no. 3) are inscribed within a printed border. Below them, the illustrations are depicted:
Frame 9: On the right, Ahasuerus sits on the throne with a canopy and extends his scepter to the crowned Esther who is about to kneel before him. Two men stand next to the throne and the queen is attended by two maid-servants (Es. 5:2). On the left, the first banquet given by Esther is depicted. The queen, the king, and Haman sit at a table set on a pedestal with a colonnade (Es. 5:5-8).
Frame 10: On the right, Haman who has just arrived in the courtyard of the royal palace is shown (Es. 6:4-5). On the left, Ahasuerus reclines on a bed and is accompanied by four men. One of them stands before him and reads from an open book to the king (Es. 6:1-3), another one holds a high candle (?), and the other two can be guards with a spear in their hands. In the background, there is the gallows prepared by Haman for Mordecai and next to it, a group of people is standing; probably they are Haman, his wife - Zeresh, and his friends (Es. 5:14).
Length of the membranes in the scroll: 1) ca. 525 mm, 2) 465 mm, 3) 460 mm, 4) 460 mm, 5) min. 525 mm (the membrane is rolled and it is difficult to unroll it in full.
Dimensions of the plate used for printing: ca. 255 x465 mm.
C | Columns
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
F | Flower
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
A | Arch
C | Cock (Hen, Rooster)
T | Turkey (bird)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus extending his scepter to Esther (Es. 5:2)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther's first banquet (Es. 5:5-8)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Gallows built for Mordecai (Es. 5:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman talks to his wife, Zeresh, and friends (Es. 5:14)
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
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The printed border and the text are preserved in very good condition.
The first membrane is seriously damaged (it is stained, there are some losses in it, and the edges are not straight) and yellowed.
There are some stains on the third membrane.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 5 sheets containing a total of 19 columns of the text with 22 lines each, except for col. 16 with 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
The first four membranes contain four columns and the last membrane contains three columns.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square Italian script with tagin in black ink on the flesh side of the parchment membranes that are thick and very stiff. The side of the text and decorations is matte and brighter than the blank side that is rather yellow and more glossy.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is slightly larger and highlighted by its form (it is formed of two elements joined with a roof). The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is slightly bigger too. Enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 16.
The ruling is barely visible.
The pricking is invisible.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched together.
None
The last lunette is blank.
No bibliography on the scroll is available but scrolls sharing the same pattern are discussed for example in:
Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue raisonné de la collection juive du Musée de Cluny, Paris 1981, p. 66-67, object 74.
Mendel Metzger, The Earliest Engraved Italian Megilloth, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 1966, 48/2, 381–432, esp. 416-432 (here the scrolls are called "post-Griselini").
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, 1:135-138.