Img. ID: 346519
The seventh and eighth columns of text (sheet no. 2) are inscribed within a printed border. Below them, the illustrations are depicted:
Frame 7: On the right, a man (Haman?) dictates the decree against Jews to a scribe who sits at a table before him and is attended by three other men (Es. 3:12). On the left, the crowned Esther is standing and a man (possibly her servant, Hatach) goes towards her; the queen is attended by two maid-servants and another person (Es. 4:4).
Frame 8: Both episodes included in the cartouche depict Hatach who delivers the messages between Esther and Mordecai. On the right, Esther stands on a pedestal and is flanked by her maid-servants. She is pointing at a man (Hatach?) who stands facing her and raises his hand in a gesture of speech (Es. 4:5). On the left, Mordecai stands before the palace gate facing a man (Hatach?) who seems to speak to him (Es. 4:5-7).
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
P | Parrot
B | Bird | Hoopoe
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Scribe(s) writing Haman's decree (Es. 3:12)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther is informed of the plot by her maiden(s) and servant(s) (Es. 4:4)
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Esther sends Hatach to speak to Mordecai (Es. 4:5)
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.