Large Esther scroll. [Bohemia, present day: Czech Republic, second half of 18th century]. Decorated with fine oil paint illustrations, [Germany? 19th century].
Ink, oil and gouache on parchment.
Large scroll in neat Ashkenazic script with crownlet decorations. 40 lines per column; 11 columns; three membranes. Impressionist illustrations were later painted above and beneath the text columns (presumably in the second half of the 19th century), with artistic depictions of the megillah scenes. A ladder is painted across the column listing the ten sons of Haman; a hangman is seen climbing up to the gallows at the top of the column, while his colleague steadies the ladder at the bottom. The columns are separated by foliate and geometric designs, and clown figures.
Height of parchment: 49 cm. Good condition. Minor damage. Stains. Creases. Stitching of membranes partially unraveled. Pinholes to edges of final membrane.
Provenance: according to the family, this megillah comes from the estate of Rabbi Dr. Meyer (Marcus) Lehman (1831-1890), rabbi of Mainz – a prominent German rabbi, editor of the Israelit and leader of the battles for Orthodox Judaism in Germany.