A Bible believed to date from the late 9th or early 10th century, known as the Codex Sassoon, was bought for $38.1 million on Wednesday.
The Codex Sassoon it is the most valuable book ever sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s. The record price surpassed the 1994 sale of Leonardo da Vinci Codex Leicester manuscriptwhich sold for $30.8 million.
The US Ambassador to Romania, Alfred Moses, purchased the Codex Sassoon on behalf of the American Friends of the ANU. It is being gifted to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
“It was my mission, to realize the historical importance of the Codex Sassoon, to see that it resides in a place with global access for all people,” Moses said in a press release. “In my heart and mind, that place was the land of Israel, the cradle of Judaism, where the Hebrew Bible originated. In Israel, at ANU, it will be preserved for generations to come as a piece central and jewel of the entire extensive exhibition. and presence of Jewish history”.
Sotheby’s
Codex Sassoon contains all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, but is missing 12 leaves. The Bible was commissioned and privately owned for several centuries before being given to a synagogue in northeastern Syria in the 13th century, according to Sotheby’s.
The synagogue was destroyed towards the end of the 14th century, but the Bible was safeguarded by a member of the community. The Bible resurfaced in 1929 and was offered for sale to David Solomon Sassoon, a scholar with a collection of Hebrew manuscripts. He bought the Bible and called it the Codex Sassoon.
The Bible was displayed at locations around the world before the auction, according to Sotheby’s. Sharon Liberman Mintz, a Judaica expert and senior consultant to the auction house, had the opportunity to study the Codex Sassoon for over a year.
“Today’s record-breaking result directly reflects the profound power, influence and meaning of the Hebrew Bible, which is an indispensable pillar of humanity,” he said in a statement.
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Aliza Chasan
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