Ancient Hebrew Bible breaks US auction record – 05/17/2023 – Science
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A 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible sold for a record $38.1 million in New York on Wednesday, making it the most valuable manuscript ever sold in New York. auction.
The Codex Sassoon, which dates to the late 9th or early 10th century, is the oldest complete Hebrew Bible ever discovered, Sotheby’s said. She was sold after a four-minute dispute between two bidders.
The Bible was purchased by former American diplomat Alfred Moses on behalf of a non-profit organization in the United States, which will donate it to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv (ISR), the auction house said.
“The Hebrew Bible is the most influential book in history and forms the foundation of Western civilization. I am happy to know that it belongs to the Jewish people,” said Moses, who was US ambassador to Bill Clinton.
The sale surpassed the $30.8 million paid for Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript in 1994 as the most expensive handwritten document ever sold at auction.
The landmark document sold for the highest price remains one of the first printings of the US Constitution, which Sotheby’s sold for $43 million in November 2021.
The Codex Sassoon is one of only two codices, or manuscripts, containing the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible that have survived into the modern era. It takes its name from its previous owner, David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942), who assembled the world’s most important private collection of ancient Jewish texts.
The document was auctioned for the first time in over 30 years, and had an estimated sale of between $30 million and $50 million.
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