Faith Nyasuguta
A forthcoming auction, as reported by the American news agency Reuters, will feature one of the oldest surviving books dating back to the early days of Christianity. This ancient text, written in Coptic on papyrus between 250 and 350 AD, was compiled in one of the earliest monasteries of the religion.
Displayed at Christie’s New York between April 2 and April 9, the codex will go under the hammer in London on June 11.
According to Eugenio Donadoni, Christie’s Senior Specialist in Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, the book represents a pivotal moment in history when papyrus scrolls transitioned into the codex form, resembling modern books. Notably, it contains the earliest known texts of two biblical books.
Dubbed “The Crosby-Schoyen Codex,” the manuscript is estimated to be worth between $2.6 million and $3.8 million, as indicated by Christie’s. Comprising 104 pages or 52 leaves, the codex was meticulously written by a single scribe over a span of 40 years in an upper Egyptian monastery. Its contents include Peter’s first epistle and the Book of Jonah.
The preservation of this ancient document owes much to Egypt’s arid climate, with Donadoni highlighting that only a handful of manuscripts from the third and fourth centuries have endured over time. He emphasized that Egypt’s specific climatic conditions played a crucial role in safeguarding Christian manuscripts discovered during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Originally unearthed in Egypt during the 1950s, the codex later found its way to the University of Mississippi, where it remained until 1981.
Eventually acquired by Dr. Martin Schoyen, a renowned Norwegian manuscript collector, in 1988, the codex now forms part of his esteemed Shoyen Collection.
Dr. Schoyen is set to auction it alongside other notable highlights from his collection, which is considered one of the most significant private manuscript collections globally.
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