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)
Floral motif
New decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves (Es. 8:8-10)
Ahasuerus' messenger(s) (Es. 8:14)
Jews battle their enemies (Es. 9:5-12)
Esther asks the king for an additional day of fighting (Es. 9:13)
Haman's sons hanged (Es. 9:14)
Angel's head
Main text framed |
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 fourth sheet contains four columns of the text (nos. 13-16) and a benediction panel; three of them are visible on the image:
Text column no. 13: In the upper margin, a bust of the king (Ahasuerus?) with a scepter in the hand is depicted. In the frame placed in the lower margin, on the right, a table with three scribes seated at it is shown; most likely they write the decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves (Es. 8:8-10). On the left, two messengers of the king are going to deliver the new decree (Es. 8:14).
Text column no. 14: In the upper margin, a bust of a young woman with a flower in her hand is depicted. In the frame placed in the lower margin, a long two-story building is depicted that can be a symbolic representation of the king’s palace. In the text panel above, the scene of hanging of Haman’s ten sons (Es. 9:14) is represented. On every beam of very high gallows, a single body is hanged. A high ladder leans on it and on its top an executioner is sitting. The text in the column is printed.
Text column no. 15: In the upper margin, a bust of the king with a scepter in the hand (Ahasuerus?) is depicted. On the right, two mounted troops are represented as fighting together. The clothing of the men on the left suggests that they are Jews who are fighting their enemies approaching from the opposite direction. This is one of the moments in the narrative when Jews battle their enemies but it is difficult to determine which particular episode is illustrated here (Es. 9:5-12). On the left, the royal couple sitting on the throne is represented, however, it is unclear which episode it illustrates; it can be the moment when Esther pleads with the king for an additional day of fights (Es. 9:13).
In the octagons separating the frames are depicted (from the right to the left): 1) a landscape with a bridge over the river, 2) a house with the sun shining over it, 3) a landscape with a building on a hill.
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.