This is the earliest Esther scroll (megilah) in the collection, and it is one of the three known megilot made by the copyist and illustrator Moses ben Abraham Pescarol. Digitisation makes it easy to study the intricate details without having to unroll the almost 5m long scroll. We can also compare the scroll to others by Moses ben Abraham Pescarol held in the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem and in the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Family Collection of Judaica, Columbus, Ohio.
Esther scroll
Ferrara (Italy), 1618
Hebrew MS 22
Hebrew MS 22
Colophons by Moses ben Abraham Pescarol (in the lower register)
Colophon
Hebrew MS 22
Colophon
From the collection of the National Library of Israel; מונגש באמצעות פרויקט כתיב, הספרייה הלאומית
Colophon
Reproduced courtesy of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Family Collection of Judaica
The Ten Sons of Haman listed in two columns
Ten Sons
Hebrew MS 22
Ten Sons
From the collection of the National Library of Israel; מונגש באמצעות פרויקט כתיב, הספרייה הלאומית
Ten Sons
Reproduced courtesy of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Family Collection of Judaica
The beheading of Queen Vashti (scene above the text)
The beheading of Queen Vashti
Hebrew MS 22
The beheading of Queen Vashti
From the collection of the National Library of Israel; מונגש באמצעות פרויקט כתיב, הספרייה הלאומית
The beheading of Queen Vashti
Reproduced courtesy of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Family Collection of Judaica