HEBREW MANUSCRIPT. Esther Scroll. Engraved Megillat Esther from Italy, 18th century. Inscribed in brown ink, printed and hand-painted on vellum, 3 membranes, 172 mm. high. 19 columns, (70 x 50 mm.) of 22 lines. Worn throughout. Mounted contemporary wooden roller. A second example of the previous engraved border, here printed, rather unusually, in orange ink. This version presents a more elaborate opening panel, adorned with a central cartouche surrounded by flora and foliage inhabited by the Four Animals (leopard, eagle, gazelle, lion) of Pirke Avot 5:20. Its final panel shows a cartouche framed by flowers. The scroll's initial membrane is backed with green silk. Reference: Metzger, Mendel. "The Earliest Engraved Italian Megillot," Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 48, 1966, cf. plate I a. - Purim: The Face and the Mask, Yeshiva University Museum, 1979, cf. colorplate facing p. 21.