Obj. ID: 56253
  Illuminated Manuscripts  JRL Esther scroll with Cut-Out Border, Italy, 18th century

The scroll is a rare example adorned with cut-out decorations. The Hebrew text of the Book of Esther is inscribed in brown ink, set within arches based on entwined columns. Both margins of all sheets are intricately filled with decorations, including biblical scenes. However, very few of these illustrations depict the narrative of the Book of Esther (e.g., the hanging of Haman ‒ 7:10). Instead, they feature scenes from Genesis, such as the three angels visiting Abraham (18:2), the sacrifice of Isaac (22:9‒14), and Jacob’s dream (28:12). Possibly there is also depiction of the visit of the Queen of Sheba presenting gifts to King Solomon drawn from 2 Chronicles (9:2) or 1 Kings (10:10). Yet another scene is from the Book of Judith (Judith with Holofernes’ head ‒ 13:7–9), which is not part of the Jewish canon. Additionally, it includes several unidentified scenes. The decorations above and below the text panels primarily depict pairs of animals, such as long-tailed birds, stags, and dragonflies, along with fantastic creatures like mermaids, grotesques, and griffins. The ornamentation of this scroll significantly varies from the other three examples from this corpus. Notably, it is the only example that includes a small section (text panel 17) that is hand-colored, which is, however, a later addition. The scroll is also exceptionally mounted on a backing made of brocade paper, which is placed on silk.

Three similar scrolls are stored in the following locations: Royal Ontario Museum (CR 532) in Toronto, Ets Haim–Livraria Montezinos (EH 47 E 58; ID 39063) in Amsterdam, and the London Jewish Museum (JM 284; ID 37873).

The scroll contains both the initial and final blessings, written in roundels at the beginning and end, with the Arur Haman section inscribed at the end.