Wealthy collectors of Jewish historical items will have a chance to purchase something really old when the Codex Sassoon, a nearly complete Hebrew Bible dating back to the early 10th century, goes on sale at Sotheby’s on May 16.
The Codex Sassoon is missing around 12 leaves (two-sided pages), according to Sotheby’s. The missing portion includes the first 10 chapters of the Book of Genesis, according to The New York Times.
The piece has been estimated for a sale of $30 million to $50 million and has a chance to become the most expensive historic document put up for auction. The current holder of that record is a first printing of the U.S. Constitution that sold for $43.2 million to investor Ken Griffin in 2021.
That copy of the Constitution had a low estimate of $15 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Carbon dating paid for by current owner and Swiss banking scion Jacqui Safra found that it dates to the late ninth or early 10th century, according to The Journal. The Sotheby’s listing dates it to 900.
Notes in the margins of the manuscript detail its early history, including its sale between two Jewish merchants in what is now Syria circa 1000, as well as its dedication to a former synagogue.
Placed in safekeeping after the synagogue’s destruction, its whereabouts for 600 years are unknown; it was purchased by British Judaica collector David Sassoon in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929.
“It’s electrifying. This represents the first time the text appears in the form where we can really read and understand it. … You have seven centuries of nothing. And then you have this entire authoritative, standardized, accurate text of the Hebrew bible,” Sharon Mintz, senior Judaica consultant for Sotheby’s, told The Times.
Before its sale, the public will have the chance to view the manuscript, which has not been exhibited in 40 years. From Feb. 22-28, the codex will be displayed at Sotheby’s in London, then through Tel Aviv, Dallas and Los Angeles before returning to the Sotheby’s facility in New York City for display from May 7-16.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.