This eighteenth-century megillah was created in Lower Saxony and
exemplifies a type of folk art decoration and color palette found
in other megillot from this region. The most distinctive image in
this scroll is the one depicting the hanging of Haman. Bound in
chains, he is suspended from the gallows. A venomous snake, a
symbol of evil, encircles the upright support of the gibbet. Below,
a double-tailed lion, an allegoric embodiment of the Jewish people,
is depicted holding a crowned shield and gazing up at the
execution. This Braginsky Collection megillah is one of three
similar German scrolls containing distinctive images of Haman
hanging. Inscriptions on the opening and closing panels of this
scroll indicate that this scroll was owned by Berel the son of
Abraham Neumark of Hamburg.
