Esther scroll with naïve colored illustrations. [Germany, early 18th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Written on three sheets of parchment sewn together, 12 columns of text (and an additional introductory column with the blessings to be recited over the reading of the Megillah), 24-31 lines per column.

Most of the text columns (with the exception of the opening column and the column listing the names of Haman’s ten sons) are enclosed within circular frames. The spaces between the circles are filled with over forty figural illustrations in a folk-naïve style, most of them colored, depicting scenes from the Book of Esther (or midrashic traditions). The characters wear contemporary costume: soldiers in European military uniforms (though the king's eunuchs wear headgear reminiscent of fezzes), while the Jewish figures are shown wearing flat, round black caps characteristic of 18th-century German Jews.

This format – text columns enclosed within circular frames – is relatively uncommon in Esther scrolls, but already appears in 17th-century scrolls created in Amsterdam by artist Shalom Italia. A number of 18th-century German scrolls share this feature, forming a group known as "Statt Susonn" (City of Shushan), named for the inscription typically found above the illustration of the city of Shushan at the scroll's opening.

Illustrations

At the beginning of the scroll, the blessings for the Megillah are set within an architectural frame, beneath which is an illustration of the reading of the Megillah in a synagogue. The illustrations on the first sheet are accompanied by captions quoting biblical verses: "he made a banquet for his princes and his servants", "the court of the king", "Vashti the queen made a banquet for the women", "the army of Persia and Media", "he sent letters to all the king’s provinces", "the king's officers", "Nebuchadnezzar[!] [and] Mordechai", "Esther was taken to the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women", "Mordechai would walk about in front of the court of the house of the women", "Bigthan and Teresh", "and the matter became known to Mordechai", "and Esther told [it] to the king in Mordechai's name". The subsequent two sheets continue the story chronologically, though without captions: Ahasuerus giving Haman his ring; two of the king’s chamberlains holding branches; Ahasuerus and Haman seated at a banquet; Mordechai clothed in sackcloth and ashes; Ahasuerus conversing with a courtier; Ahasuerus extending his scepter to Esther; Haman leading Mordechai on horseback as Haman's daughter empties a chamber pot over him; and more scenes.

Additional illustrations, some uncolored, appear in the lower margins, depicting cityscapes, buildings, a lion and a unicorn in combat, two women holding fans, trumpeting soldiers, hunting scenes, a stork devouring a serpent, figures smoking pipes, and more.

Height of parchment: 16 cm. Total length: 202.5 cm. Overall good condition. Beginning of first sheet in fair condition. Stains and wear, primarily to beginning of first sheet, end of last sheet, and margins. Some dark stains and folding marks, affecting several illustrations and text. Marginal tear to final column.