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© Jewish Museum in Prague (JMP), Photographer: N/A, -, Negative/Photo. No. M002542.
Name/Title
JMP Printed Copy of Esther Scroll with Portrait Medallions | Unknown
Object Detail
cols. 3-6
Date
end of the 18th century
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community
Unknown |
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Scrolls with portrait medallions|
{"215":"The family of Dutch Esther scrolls from the early 18th century designed by an anonymous engraver whose decorative scheme features decorative medallions surrounded by acanthus containing busts of the Esther story protagonists, except for the last that is filled with a printed word \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da barukh (“blessed”). The medallions are placed in upper margins, above text panels. The text columns are separated by pillars formed of a variety of motifs such as trees, flowers, acanthus leaves, heads of angels, and architectural elements. Lower margins are filled with the figurative scenes that chronicle the Purim story or allude to midrashim and other sources. They are separated by the octagons (placed beneath the decorative pillars) filled with different land- and seascapes. At the end of the scroll there are five full figures of the Esther story protagonists."}
Period
Period Detail
Collection
Category
Material/Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
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Construction material
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Length
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Depth
Circumference
Thickness
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Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Description

Text column no. 3 (sheet no. 1): In the upper margin, a bust of a young woman (Esther?) is depicted. The frame in the lower margins contains the depiction of the walled city. In the central part of the wall, there is a gate at which a man (Mordecai) is seated (Es. 2:19 and/or 2:21).

Text column no. 4 (sheet no. 1): In the upper margin, a bust of a bearded man with a flat cap on the head (Mordecai?) is depicted. In the frame in the lower margin, a wedding ceremony of Ahasuerus and Esther is represented. The scene is witnessed by a group of men standing on the left and a group of women standing on the right. The Book of Esther does not mention this episode and the source for this representation remains unknown. It can be influenced by European paintings in which the scene of the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Josef was similarly composed. This can also explain the dress of a man standing in the center that refers to the high priest's robes.

Text column no. 5 (sheet no. 2): In the upper margin, a bust of a man in a long curly wig and tricorn hat on it (one of the princes of Media and Persia listed in Es. 1:14?, one of the servants?) is depicted. In the frame placed in the lower margin, a man with a bow in his hands is depicted; he is aiming at the wheel with the signs of Zodiac on its perimeter. The scene is shown against the landscape. The depiction symbolically shows the moment of casting lots by Haman (alludes to Es. 3:7). The Book of Esther mentions only casting lots that means appointing the least favorable period for Jews, but there is no reference to the signs of the Zodiac in the text.

Text column no. 6 (sheet no. 2): In the upper margin, a bust of the king is depicted. In the frame placed in the lower margin, on the right, a mounted messenger is carrying the edict of Haman that he holds in his left hand (Es. 3:13) and in his other hand, he has a French horn. He is riding towards a man sitting under a tree (on the left), most likely Mordecai, who tears his clothes as a sign of mourning (Es. 4:1).

In the octagons separating the frames are depicted (from right to left): 1) a cityscape with a sun shining over a city, 2) a harbor with a ship, 3) a landscape with hills and a castle (?), 4) a castle (?) on a hill-island on the sea.

Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
Researcher
Dagmara Budzioch | 2020
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