An Illustrated Esther Scroll with Drawings and Important Adornments – Central Europe, 18th Century

An Illustrated Esther Scroll with Drawings and Important Adornments – Central Europe, 18th Century
A magnificent Esther Scroll (Megillat Esther) illustrated and decorated by an artist. Central Europe [Austria?], Beginning or mid-18th century.
Ink on parchment. High-standard artistic illustrations and decorations. The writing of the scroll was combined with its illustration and decoration. The scroll is written in the style of HaMelech, i.e. each column begins with the word HaMelech, but unlike other scrolls written according to this custom, HaMelech is written in large letters, integrated into the decoration at the top of each column. Throughout the scroll, there are frames adorned with dense vegetation, with various nesting fowl: a peacock, owl, birds and eagles [one illustration is of a double-headed eagle, perhaps an emblem of the country in which the scroll was illustrated]. At the top of every column is a medal with the word HaMelech, flanked by a pair of animals: lions, hares, deer and eagles. Between the columns are varying illustrations of the figure of a king in attire that is typical for those times. Along the bottom part of the scroll are rectangular frames with illustrations portraying episodes of the Megillah story: Ahasuerus' banquet, the king stretching out his scepter to Esther, Haman leading Mordechai on the horse, Mordechai and Esther writing letters to benefit the Jews. At the beginning of the Megillah, is a single medallion with a European landscape of a castle on the top of a hill and a river with a boat. The ten sons of Haman were written inside the text [in enlarged letters] and not in a separate column as usual.
Height of parchment: 22 cm. Fair condition. Creases, faded text and illustrations in several places. Stains, ink stains. Dark stains on text and frame at the beginning of the scroll. A later childish illustration on one of the illustrations. One loose sheet.