Img. ID: 355458
The scroll is formed of a single sheet on which the Hebrew text of the Book of Esther is written in a minute script in rectangular columns. Eight pen-and-ink drawings are incorporated in the text; they are as follows (from the right to the left, upper depiction precedes the lower depiction):
1. Enthroned King Ahasuerus (possibly it alludes to Es. 1:1);
2. Queen Esther with a scepter in her hand;
3. Possibly the king listening to the reading of the empire's chronicles (Es. 6:1-3);
4. The banquet of Queen Esther - possibly the second of her banquets (Es. 7:1);
5. The triumph of Mordecai (Es. 6:11);
6. Haman's sons hanged (Es. 9:14); the scene is unique due to the structure of the gallows based built on a brick base on a square plan. Next to it, a second gallows is shown;
7. Mordecai writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29);
8. Esther writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29).
The narrative scenes from the Book of Esther listed as 3-6 are in teardrop-shaped frames and the Esther story protagonists listed as 1, 2, 7, and 8 are in frames of a shape of a half of a teardrop.
Scenes nos. 3, 4, and 7 seem to be based on the engravings by Philipp Jakob Franck adorning the megillot Esther (see in the Index).
| Iventory number unknown
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Esther, the queen
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Ahasuerus listening to the Book of Records (Es. 6:1-3)
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) | Esther's second banquet (Es. 7:1)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman's sons hanged (Es. 9:14)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Mordecai writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29)
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
|
The manuscript is preserved in good condition, although there are some edge splits on it.
Some discolorations on the membrane can be seen.
The gold paint is slightly visible.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The text is written in 3 columns with 71 lines of different lengths.
The names of Haman's sons are written in a larger script but not in a separate column of text. They include enlarged and diminished letters.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its form and size. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged.
Another megillah executed by Aaron Herlingen is stored at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem (see https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/397975; accessed on 12.07.2021).
Gift of Louis E. Levinthal to the Bryn Mawr College Library.
A short note on the scroll and its images are available on https://brynmawrspeccoll.tumblr.com/post/158288046453/esther-scroll-by-aaron-wolf-ben-benjamin-zeev (accessed on 4.05.2021).
A more extensive literature on the other works by Aaron Herlingen of Gewitsch is available.