Obj. ID: 38113
  Illuminated Manuscripts JMNY Esther Scroll with a Cut-Out Border with Flowers and Eagles, USA or Eretz Israel, 19th/20th centuries
The panels containing the text of the Book of Esther in Hebrew are surrounded by a cut-out decoration colored by hand. All membranes in the scroll are adorned with the same pattern. The upper margins are filled with eagles who hold, in their beaks, ribbons supporting garlands of flowers; each garland is stretched between a pair of eagles facing each other. The upper edge of each membrane is decorated with a wavy line. The lower margins are decorated with foliate and floral decorations composed mainly of roses. The panels are separated by floral ornament. The opening and final sections of the scroll are blank.
Frames of the text panels may have been originally painted in gold.
On the lower margins, drawings in pencil can be seen.
sub-set tree: 
F | Flower
E | Eagle
O | Ornamentation: | Ornament
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
|
The length of the sheets in the scroll: 1) 775 mm, 2) ca. 830 mm, 3) ca. 640 mm, 4) ca. 710 mm.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- decorations on the upper margins: 35 mm;
- decorations on the lower margins: 25 mm;
- an average letter: 2 mm (height).
The manuscript (the text, decorations, and parchment membranes) is preserved in very good condition.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing a total of 21 columns of text with 14 lines each, except for col. 18 which has 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
Sheets nos. 1, 3, and 4 include 5 text columns, and sheet no. 2 includes 6 columns.
The text is written in Hebrew square script, in black ink on the flesh side of the parchment membranes, which are thick and stiff. The sides of the membranes differ: the blank side is rather yellow and smoother than the side of the text and decorations.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its form (it is formed of two parts joined with a roof) and it is slightly larger than an average letter in the scroll. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged and bolded. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 18.
The ruling – horizontal and vertical lines - is made with a hardpoint. It seems the upper and lower horizontal lines are marked.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched together.
The pricking is invisible.
None
No bibliography on the manuscript is available.