Length of the sheets in the scroll: 1) 575 mm, 2) 395 mm, 3) 385 mm, 4) 500 mm.
Dimensions of the selected details in the scroll:
- text panel: 110x70 mm;
- opening decoration with the first column: 145 mm (width);
- frames with illustration(s): 31x70 mm (inner dimensions);
- an average letter: 2 mm (height);
- letters in the initial word of the scroll: 5 mm (height);
- an average letter in benedictions: 2 mm .
The roller: 400 mm (height).
Acanthus Leaf
Columns
Landscape
Architectonic motif
Garland
Putto (Putti in Plural)
Mask
Floral motif
Main text framed
Ahasuerus and Esther, enthroned
Seven princes of Persia and Media (Es. 1:14)
Seven maidens given to Esther (Es. 2:9)
Bigthan and Teresh hanged (Es. 2:23)
Haman hanged (Es. 7:10)
Haman's sons hanged (Es. 9:14)
Haman and his ten sons hanged (Es. 9:25)
Mordecai receiving clothes from Hatach (Es. 4:4)
Mordecai's triumph (Es. 6:11)
Mordecai and Esther writing the Purim letter (Es. 9:29)
Ahasuerus' banquet (Es. 1:3-8) |
There are serious damages to the print on the first sheet and the final section of the scroll.
The text in many places is faded.
The sheets, but especially the first one, are crumpled.
The first sheet contains the opening decoration and four columns of the text (nos. 1-4); only the first of them is visible on the image:
Opening decoration: The scroll opens with a panel containing several narrative scenes from the Esther story. In the central part of its upper register, there is the royal couple seated on the throne with a canopy that is placed on a pedestal. The king and the queen are accompanied by courtiers; on the right stand the princes of Media and Persia (Es. 1:14), and Esther's maidservants stand on the left (Es. 2:9). Below, the Hebrew words ברכת מגילה - "blessings for the Megillah" are printed in a rectangular panel. Below it, there are three rectangular frames: the central panel contains the benedictions recited before the Megillah reading that are decorated by hand, the panel on the right shows the chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, hanging on two gallows (Es. 2:23), whereas the one on the left depicts Haman and his sons hanging on three gallows (Es. 7:10 and Es. 9:14 or Es. 9:25). The lowest register also contains three episodes (from right to left): Mordecai receiving the clothes from Hatakh (Es. 4:4), Haman leading Mordecai through the streets of Susa (Es. 6:11), and Esther and Mordecai writing letters instructing the Jews to observe Purim (Es. 9:29).
Text column no. 1: The initial word of the Megillah (ויהי) is written in enlarged and bolded letters. In the upper margin, above the column, a medallion with a bust of the king flanked by acanthus leaves is depicted. In the lower margin, the feast of the king is shown (Es. 1:3-8) - there are six men seated at a round laid table; additionally, on either side of the table, servants are visible.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew with initial and final benedictions, and a liturgical poem אשר הניא "Asher Heni"
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing a total of 16 columns of text and two additional benediction panels at the beginning and the end of the manuscript. Each column includes 24 lines of text, except for col. 14 with 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
Every sheet comprises 4 columns of the text.
The text is inscribed in the Hebrew square script with tagin, in brown ink, on the flesh side of parchment membranes of different thicknesses. The side of the text and decorations is brighter and smoother than the other one that is suede.
The scroll opens with an enlarged and bolded initial word.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its and form - it is very wide, composed of two elements joined with a roof, and is decorated with scrolled feet. The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged and bolded. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 14.
In some places, letters פ with a flourish inside can be seen.
The letter ע in the final word of the scroll is decorated.
The ruling is invisible.
The pricking is visible only at the very end of the scroll, close to the roller.
The sheets in the scroll are stitched together.
The benedictions: The initial benedictions are inscribed in the central panel of the opening decoration. Two of the formulas are inscribed partly in square and partly in semi-cursive script, while the third one is penned in a square script.
The final blessing starts with a printed word ברוך placed in the upper margin and is copied in a square script. In the column below it, the Purim poem is copied in a semi-cursive script but the letters opening the subsequent verses are inscribed in the square script (they are bolded too). The first word - אשר - is enlarged and bolded.
None
Before the opening decoration, there is a blank space that is 80 mm wide.
The text in column no. 14 is printed.
No bibliography on the manuscript is available but other scrolls sharing the same pattern are discussed in:
Jiřina Šedinová, From the Mss. Collections of the State Jewish Museum in Prague. The Scrolls of Esther, "Judaica Bohemiae" 1979, nr 15/2, 80-83.
A Journey through Jewish Worlds: Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books, eds. Evelyn M. Cohen, Emile Schrijver, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Amsterdam 2009, 234-237.
Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, eds. Emile Schrijver, Falk Wiesemann, Evelyn M. Cohen, Sharon Liberman Mintz, Menahem Schmeltzer, Zurich 2011, 282-283.
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, 1:176-188.