AN IMPORTANT MEGILLAH WITH ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS AND TEXT Printed on paper, Amsterdam, middle or second half 18th Century Megillah with illustrations and text printed in black on paper, 5 membranes, 22.7 cm. high, 235.5 cm. long, 22 text columns, 10.2 cm. high, most of 25 lines (excepting initial column of 16 lines plus opening word panel, penultimate column of 22 lines, final column of 33 lines and 14.1 cm. high), opening panel containing blessings recited before the megillah reading, final panel containing blessing and prayers recited after the megillah reading, Hebrew square and semi-cursive printed type. CONDITION Very good to excellent overall condition, in general fresh and clear impression, skillful repair of mainly marginal minor defects, occasional light foxing and staining not affecting text or illustrations, opening column strengthened, slightly rubbed. DECORATION The megillah opens with an illustrated blessing panel depicting the principal characters and events of the Esther narrative. Its four registers display (1) Ahasuerus and Esther enthroned, (2) Esther enthroned between the Hebrew words "Megillah Blessings", (3) a rectangular frame with blessings flanked by the hangings of Bigtan and Teresh (right) and Haman and his sons (left), and (4) Mordechai refusing to bow to Haman, Mordechai riding triumphant through the streets of Shushan, and Mordechai and Esther writing the Purim letter. Two fluted columns, entwined with acanthus leaves and surmounted by rampant lions bracket this introductory panel. The twenty-two text columns that follow are enclosed in rectangular frames separated by decorative herms. Bust-length portraits of the megillah's characters appear above the text panels, while framed narrative vignettes appear below. The visual narrative, which begins with Ahasuerus' feast and ends with the Jews rejoicing and dispatching the news of their redemption, includes several unusual scenes: the Strangling of Vashti by two women! (col. 2), the Marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus (col. 4), Haman Shooting an Arrow at a Zodiac Wheel (to determine on which date the Jews will be annihilated, [col. 5]) and Zeresh Weeping over the Death of Her Husband and Sons [obove col.18]. The story's climactic episode, the Hanging of Haman's sons, is dramatically depicted within (rather than beneath) the eighteenth text column, which records this event: standing at the bottom of an extraordinarily tall gallows, Mordechai points upward at the dangling corpses of his enemies. The border's final panel shows at top two lions carrying a cartouche inscribed with the word Baruch ("Blessed"), and at bottom five Purim characters, Haman, Mordechai, Zeresh, Esther and Harbonah. These figures, each of whom supports a round escutcheon, have been related to actors and actresses in contemporary Purim dramas. While this panel is typically used to frame the blessing and prayers recited after the megillah reading (hence the word "Baruch" at top), it contains here the final column of text. The final blessing and prayers appear, somewhat unusually, outside of the illustrated border, in a double rectangular frame. This rare paper megillah provides valuable insight into the origins of an important series of engraved Esther scroll borders. Produced in the 18th century and extant in multiple copies and versions, these richly decorated borders have long defied localization: in the hands of various scholars, they have been attributed to Italy, Germany, Bohemia/Moravia, and The Netherlands. What distinguishes the present example from nearly every other representative of this type, and awards it the unique ability to suggest the series' place of manufacture, is the fact that it was produced on paper (rather than parchment) and contains a printed (rather than handwritten) text. Indeed, a close examination of the scroll's material and typography, conducted by Dr. Adri K. Offenberg, strongly suggests that this exceptional scroll was printed in the city of Amst
AN IMPORTANT MEGILLAH WITH ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS AND TEXT Printed on paper, Amsterdam, middle or second half 18th Century Megillah with illustrations and text printed in black on paper, 5 membranes, 22.7 cm. high, 235.5 cm. long, 22 text columns, 10.2 cm. high, most of 25 lines (excepting initial column of 16 lines plus opening word panel, penultimate column of 22 lines, final column of 33 lines and 14.1 cm. high), opening panel containing blessings recited before the megillah reading, final panel containing blessing and prayers recited after the megillah reading, Hebrew square and semi-cursive printed type. CONDITION Very good to excellent overall condition, in general fresh and clear impression, skillful repair of mainly marginal minor defects, occasional light foxing and staining not affecting text or illustrations, opening column strengthened, slightly rubbed. DECORATION The megillah opens with an illustrated blessing panel depicting the principal characters and events of the Esther narrative. Its four registers display (1) Ahasuerus and Esther enthroned, (2) Esther enthroned between the Hebrew words "Megillah Blessings", (3) a rectangular frame with blessings flanked by the hangings of Bigtan and Teresh (right) and Haman and his sons (left), and (4) Mordechai refusing to bow to Haman, Mordechai riding triumphant through the streets of Shushan, and Mordechai and Esther writing the Purim letter. Two fluted columns, entwined with acanthus leaves and surmounted by rampant lions bracket this introductory panel. The twenty-two text columns that follow are enclosed in rectangular frames separated by decorative herms. Bust-length portraits of the megillah's characters appear above the text panels, while framed narrative vignettes appear below. The visual narrative, which begins with Ahasuerus' feast and ends with the Jews rejoicing and dispatching the news of their redemption, includes several unusual scenes: the Strangling of Vashti by two women! (col. 2), the Marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus (col. 4), Haman Shooting an Arrow at a Zodiac Wheel (to determine on which date the Jews will be annihilated, [col. 5]) and Zeresh Weeping over the Death of Her Husband and Sons [obove col.18]. The story's climactic episode, the Hanging of Haman's sons, is dramatically depicted within (rather than beneath) the eighteenth text column, which records this event: standing at the bottom of an extraordinarily tall gallows, Mordechai points upward at the dangling corpses of his enemies. The border's final panel shows at top two lions carrying a cartouche inscribed with the word Baruch ("Blessed"), and at bottom five Purim characters, Haman, Mordechai, Zeresh, Esther and Harbonah. These figures, each of whom supports a round escutcheon, have been related to actors and actresses in contemporary Purim dramas. While this panel is typically used to frame the blessing and prayers recited after the megillah reading (hence the word "Baruch" at top), it contains here the final column of text. The final blessing and prayers appear, somewhat unusually, outside of the illustrated border, in a double rectangular frame. This rare paper megillah provides valuable insight into the origins of an important series of engraved Esther scroll borders. Produced in the 18th century and extant in multiple copies and versions, these richly decorated borders have long defied localization: in the hands of various scholars, they have been attributed to Italy, Germany, Bohemia/Moravia, and The Netherlands. What distinguishes the present example from nearly every other representative of this type, and awards it the unique ability to suggest the series' place of manufacture, is the fact that it was produced on paper (rather than parchment) and contains a printed (rather than handwritten) text. Indeed, a close examination of the scroll's material and typography, conducted by Dr. Adri K. Offenberg, strongly suggests that this exceptional scroll was printed in the city of Amst
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