Img. ID: 346204
The scroll opens with a seriously damaged decoration with a circle in its central part. It could originally be filled with a double-head eagle and an inscription in Hebrew (see: "Scribal notes"); currently, barely visible remains of them can be noticed. It seems it was a cartouche that could be decorated with two birds and an angel's head in its upper part. Above, in the upper margin, remains of a vase (with flowers?) flanked by two lions can be noticed. Just below the alleged cartouche, the initial benedictions in three small red-orange frames are penned and the first of the illustrations is placed below them.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- upper margins: 20 mm;
- lower margins: ca. 35 mm;
- illustrations: ca. 28 x ca. 85 mm;
- text panels together with frames: 115x95 mm;
- an average letter in the scroll: 2 mm (height).
I | Illustration
O | Ornamentation: | Cartouche
B | Bird
L | Lion
V | Vase
|
In general, the scroll is poorly preserved.
The text and the decorations at the beginning of the scroll are barely visible. Also, some illustrations are seriously damaged.
The ink is faded or flaked off.
The parchments are crumpled, stained, and dirty.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew preceded by the benedictions recited before the Megillah reading.
The scroll: The number of membranes is unknown.
The first membrane contains 5 columns of text, the second at least 3 columns. Each of them has 19 lines.
The text is written in Hebrew Ashkenazi stam script with tagin in brown ink on the parchment membranes that are of medium thickness, rather soft and grey.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is decorated with scrolled feet.
Every word המלך at the head of the column of text is enlarged and written in decorative letters.
Some letters are seriously elongated, while others are very narrow.
The ruling and pricking are invisible.
The membranes in the scroll are glued together.
The benedictions: The formulas are barely readable.
It seems that in a roundel in the opening decoration an inscription could be written. Some traces of the letters can be discerned; one of the words could be אני - "I am / my name is...".
Due to the state of preservation of the manuscript and the fact that it is housed in a case, only the first membrane and a part of the next one were opened during the research, therefore a detailed description of the scroll was not possible.
Some details in the scroll could originally be painted gold.
It is very likely the same brown ink was used for writing the text and for the drawings.
No bibliography on the scroll is available.