10.06.2024 17:52
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, one of the world's oldest books written at the birth of Christianity, has been put up for auction for £3 million. This ancient manuscript of the Bible, which originated from Egypt, will be auctioned by Christie's auction house in London. This 1700-year-old manuscript contains five early Christian texts written in the Coptic language. Among these texts are the oldest known versions of the Book of Jonah and the First Epistle of Peter.
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, an ancient manuscript of the Bible from Egypt and one of the oldest books in the world, will be auctioned tomorrow at Christie's auction house in London. The Crosby-Schøyen Codex contains five early Christian texts written in the Coptic language and will be put up for auction with a starting price of 3 million pounds.
This 1700-year-old manuscript contains five early Christian texts written in the Coptic language. Among them are the oldest known texts of the Book of Jonah and the First Epistle of Peter. Although the manuscript is no longer in one piece, Christie's estimates that it could fetch up to 3 million pounds. Christie's describes this manuscript as the "oldest known book held in private hands."
"A KEY EXAMPLE OF THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIAN CULTURE AND LITERATURE"
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex contains five different texts written by five different authors. They were all copied by the same "scribe" in the 3rd century AD. This scribe, who was probably an Egyptian monk, would have used a freshly cut reed dipped in ink to write on papyrus leaves. Dr. Meredith Warren from the University of Sheffield described this work as "a key example of the birth of Christian culture and literature."
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was found in 1952 in Egypt, among other manuscripts buried in sand inside a jar. Donadoni attributed its preservation to Egypt's dry climate and noted that only a few books from the 3rd and 4th centuries have survived to the present day. The manuscript was purchased by the University of Mississippi in 1955 and later acquired by Norwegian businessman and collector Martin Schøyen in 1988. Schøyen is now offering this object for sale along with other significant works in the Shoyen Collection, one of the world's largest private manuscript collections.