Manuscript
not including Chinese calligraphy, Autograph and Maps
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Paleography Illuminated Christian manuscript Ancient England Ancient Spain Ancient Germany Judaica Flemish art Political writing Islam Persia
Chronology : 1-1000 1400-1429 1500-1519 1530-1539
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Paleography Illuminated Christian manuscript Ancient England Ancient Spain Ancient Germany Judaica Flemish art Political writing Islam Persia
Chronology : 1-1000 1400-1429 1500-1519 1530-1539
900 CE Hebrew Bible with Masorah
2023 SOLD for $ 38M by Sotheby's
With the exception of the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Bible manuscripts did not survive although some Jewish literature from the so called silent period had been found in the Cairo Genizah.
One of the earliest surviving Bibles remains nearly complete in all its three parts : Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings. Its Hebrew text is as the Jews are still using it in current days.
Already exceptional in its time, it was written around 900 CE by a single scribe on 400 30 x 36 cm parchment leaves that had required about 200 sheepskins. This manuscript includes punctuations and vowels for a better readability.
It was assembled as a codex, an antique technique recently forwarded to the Jews through the Muslims, much easier to use than a scroll, by which sheets inscribed with text in both sides were folded and sewn together.
Precise instructions on how to recite and understand it, known as the Masorah, were added in the margins. The Masoretic Bibles were used as references and not for liturgy and are extremely rare. Due to Rabbinic rules no similar system applied in the scrolls. The Masoretes were scholars-scribes who were also entrusted to maintain the text of the Bible unchanged throughout the generations.
Used for private worship in its first centuries, it was donated in the 13th century CE to a synagogue in Makisin, a town in Syria that was soon destroyed during the Mongol or Timurid invasions. Out of view after that event, the codex resurfaced as a time capsule in 1929, acquired in Frankfurt through a librarian by the scholar David Sassoon who was assembling the largest and most important private collection of Hebrew manuscripts in the world.
Remaining in private hands, it was sold for $ 38M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2023, lot 1. This historical document weighs 11.8 Kg. It had been rebound by Sassoon. Only about 12 folios are missing.
A similar example is the Aleppo Codex prepared ca 930 CE, of which nearly 40 % of the pages were lost in the 1950s.
One of the earliest surviving Bibles remains nearly complete in all its three parts : Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings. Its Hebrew text is as the Jews are still using it in current days.
Already exceptional in its time, it was written around 900 CE by a single scribe on 400 30 x 36 cm parchment leaves that had required about 200 sheepskins. This manuscript includes punctuations and vowels for a better readability.
It was assembled as a codex, an antique technique recently forwarded to the Jews through the Muslims, much easier to use than a scroll, by which sheets inscribed with text in both sides were folded and sewn together.
Precise instructions on how to recite and understand it, known as the Masorah, were added in the margins. The Masoretic Bibles were used as references and not for liturgy and are extremely rare. Due to Rabbinic rules no similar system applied in the scrolls. The Masoretes were scholars-scribes who were also entrusted to maintain the text of the Bible unchanged throughout the generations.
Used for private worship in its first centuries, it was donated in the 13th century CE to a synagogue in Makisin, a town in Syria that was soon destroyed during the Mongol or Timurid invasions. Out of view after that event, the codex resurfaced as a time capsule in 1929, acquired in Frankfurt through a librarian by the scholar David Sassoon who was assembling the largest and most important private collection of Hebrew manuscripts in the world.
Remaining in private hands, it was sold for $ 38M from a lower estimate of $ 30M by Sotheby's on May 17, 2023, lot 1. This historical document weighs 11.8 Kg. It had been rebound by Sassoon. Only about 12 folios are missing.
A similar example is the Aleppo Codex prepared ca 930 CE, of which nearly 40 % of the pages were lost in the 1950s.
In a historic standalone auction today, the Codex Sassoon—the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible—sold for $38.1 million during Marquee Week at #SothebysNewYork. #AuctionUpdate pic.twitter.com/Dj3wxLpekf
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 17, 2023
Buddy, can you spare $50 million??
— Jennifer Schuessler (@jennyschuessler) February 15, 2023
I got an exclusive peak at the Codex Sassoon, the oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible, to be auctioned at Sotheby's in May.
Created c 900 AD, lost until 1929, since then in private hands. (Yes, I touched it! Magical) https://t.co/jieAMx6JX0
Jusqu’à 50 millions de dollars : la plus vieille bible hébraïque aux enchères https://t.co/RHDDHfOU4C via @LePoint
— Sotheby's France (@SothebysFr) February 17, 2023
Coming to auction this May is one of the most impressive artifacts of human history and culture: The Codex Sassoon Hebrew Bible.
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) February 15, 2023
Over 1,000 years old, the bible puts an end to the great “silent period,” during which virtually no Hebrew literature survives. pic.twitter.com/DoKWEi2cXo
1188 The Gospels of Henry the Lion
1983 SOLD for £ 8.1M by Sotheby's
The princes want to deserve and earn the eternal life. Henry the Lion, of the Welf dynasty, was one of the most powerful. Accumulating several legacies, he was Duke of Bavaria and of Saxony and his territory extended from the Baltic Sea to the Alps. His capital was in Brunswick (Braunschweig) and he founded, among others, Munich and Lübeck. He was stripped of his titles in 1180 for refusing to second the emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
Henry was a benefactor of Brunswick Cathedral, which he had built from 1173 and where he is buried. His gospel book is a very luxurious manuscript prepared for the consecration of the altar of the Virgin Mary in 1188 in that cathedral.
This book is a codex of 266 sheets of parchment 34 x 25 cm, including 50 full-page illustrations as well as historiated initials. It shows in a logical sequence the career of the duke protected by Christ and the saints, including for example his wedding and his coronation. Phylactery explanations complement the images, making it possible to identify the highly important imperial and ducal characters of his family.
The work was prepared at the Benedictine Abbey in Helmarshausen and the scribe identified his name. The script is a modified Caroline minuscule that anticipates the Gothic. The illustrations in bright colors are composed on the principle of the rejection of blank (horror vacui) while keeping a great readability. The image shared by Wikimedia gives the example of a page.
This masterpiece of the Romanesque illumination has remained intact. It was sold on December 6, 1983 by Sotheby's for £ 8.1M, an all-categories record at that time for an artwork at auction. Considered in Germany as a national treasure, it was bought at that sale by a consortium including the government, the provinces of Lower Saxony and Bavaria and public and private donors.
Henry was a benefactor of Brunswick Cathedral, which he had built from 1173 and where he is buried. His gospel book is a very luxurious manuscript prepared for the consecration of the altar of the Virgin Mary in 1188 in that cathedral.
This book is a codex of 266 sheets of parchment 34 x 25 cm, including 50 full-page illustrations as well as historiated initials. It shows in a logical sequence the career of the duke protected by Christ and the saints, including for example his wedding and his coronation. Phylactery explanations complement the images, making it possible to identify the highly important imperial and ducal characters of his family.
The work was prepared at the Benedictine Abbey in Helmarshausen and the scribe identified his name. The script is a modified Caroline minuscule that anticipates the Gothic. The illustrations in bright colors are composed on the principle of the rejection of blank (horror vacui) while keeping a great readability. The image shared by Wikimedia gives the example of a page.
This masterpiece of the Romanesque illumination has remained intact. It was sold on December 6, 1983 by Sotheby's for £ 8.1M, an all-categories record at that time for an artwork at auction. Considered in Germany as a national treasure, it was bought at that sale by a consortium including the government, the provinces of Lower Saxony and Bavaria and public and private donors.
1297 The Magna Carta
2007 SOLD for $ 21.3 M by Sotheby's
The Magna Carta contains the seeds of modern political regimes and announces the decline of the absolutisms.
In 1215 the English barons revolted against King John. Financial and military demands had not prevented the scathing failures. In a situation of civil war, the king is forced to accept the Magna Carta by which the barons take control of the taxes.
The Magna Carta undergoes several modifications, because the political circumstances change. De facto rejected by King John, the Council of Barons, which was the forerunner of a parliamentary regime, was canceled in 1216 when the child Henry III acceded to the throne. In 1225 Henry III simplified the Magna Carta to facilitate its legal application.
The idea of a Parliament is gaining ground. Edward I takes the habit of summoning his advisers to make decisions concerning taxes and their collection. The operating rules are defined from 1283. It only remained to give force of law to the Magna Carta, which the king assisted by the Parliament solemnly does on October 12, 1297. It is stipulated in 1300 that a copy will be available in each county to be read four times a year.
17 manuscript copies from the 13th century have survived. 15 of them are in British institutions and one in the Australian Parliament.
The 17th document is a copy from 1297. It was bought in 1984 by the US billionaire Ross Perot, who entrusted it for display at the National Archives in Washington DC. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on December 18, 2007. Its new owner, David M. Rubenstein, returned it to the Archives for a new long-term loan. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1215 the English barons revolted against King John. Financial and military demands had not prevented the scathing failures. In a situation of civil war, the king is forced to accept the Magna Carta by which the barons take control of the taxes.
The Magna Carta undergoes several modifications, because the political circumstances change. De facto rejected by King John, the Council of Barons, which was the forerunner of a parliamentary regime, was canceled in 1216 when the child Henry III acceded to the throne. In 1225 Henry III simplified the Magna Carta to facilitate its legal application.
The idea of a Parliament is gaining ground. Edward I takes the habit of summoning his advisers to make decisions concerning taxes and their collection. The operating rules are defined from 1283. It only remained to give force of law to the Magna Carta, which the king assisted by the Parliament solemnly does on October 12, 1297. It is stipulated in 1300 that a copy will be available in each county to be read four times a year.
17 manuscript copies from the 13th century have survived. 15 of them are in British institutions and one in the Australian Parliament.
The 17th document is a copy from 1297. It was bought in 1984 by the US billionaire Ross Perot, who entrusted it for display at the National Archives in Washington DC. It was sold for $ 21.3M by Sotheby's on December 18, 2007. Its new owner, David M. Rubenstein, returned it to the Archives for a new long-term loan. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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around 1300 Western Ashkenazic Mahzor
2021 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's
The so called Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor is a medieval Hebrew book gathering traditional prayers and hymns for the use of the Western Ashkenazic community during the holy festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
This thick book of 451 equalized folios 31 x 24 cm was prepared in parchment in current day Bavaria by a scribe artist who identified himself as 'Abraham' in several places. It is highly rare that such a manuscript was illustrated by a Jew at a time when the best pigments were not provided to them by the Christian illuminators.
No date is inscribed. Its terminus post quem is determined as 1264 CE after a paleographic comparison with Ashkenazic codices. The terminus ante quem is slightly after 1300 CE by the use of a lead point, a precursor to the graphite pencil.
It is illustrated with multiple small figures in bright colors featuring praying Jews. A few of them have animal heads for complying with an Ashkenazic prohibition of portrait images.
It was later cleanly annotated in margins with additional prayers by its owners, providing a unique view of the rituals subsequently in Franconia, Alsace, Constance, Northern Italy and France. As an example it includes from Constance a prayer against the anti-Jewish violence during the Black Death.
The Luzzatto Mahzor is in an exceptionally fine condition. It was sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on October 19, 2021, lot 1. The Alliance Israélite Universelle is selling it to fund its educational mission. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This thick book of 451 equalized folios 31 x 24 cm was prepared in parchment in current day Bavaria by a scribe artist who identified himself as 'Abraham' in several places. It is highly rare that such a manuscript was illustrated by a Jew at a time when the best pigments were not provided to them by the Christian illuminators.
No date is inscribed. Its terminus post quem is determined as 1264 CE after a paleographic comparison with Ashkenazic codices. The terminus ante quem is slightly after 1300 CE by the use of a lead point, a precursor to the graphite pencil.
It is illustrated with multiple small figures in bright colors featuring praying Jews. A few of them have animal heads for complying with an Ashkenazic prohibition of portrait images.
It was later cleanly annotated in margins with additional prayers by its owners, providing a unique view of the rituals subsequently in Franconia, Alsace, Constance, Northern Italy and France. As an example it includes from Constance a prayer against the anti-Jewish violence during the Black Death.
The Luzzatto Mahzor is in an exceptionally fine condition. It was sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on October 19, 2021, lot 1. The Alliance Israélite Universelle is selling it to fund its educational mission. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1312 the Shem Tov Bible
2024 SOLD for $ 7M by Sotheby's
A Talmudist and kabbalist in the following of Maimonides, Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon prepared for his own use a magnificent Masoretic Bible on parchment 34 x 25 cm. This document was paginated to 768 in the 20th century by David Solomon Sassoon.
The colophon on page 753 identifies the maker, dates the completion to 5072 matching 1312 CE, locates it in his hometown Soria (Castile) and identifies the contents as the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible arranged into Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings.
The possibly autograph illuminations are assimilating Christian and Jewish styles. An Islamic influence also appear in some multi-lobed gilded archways. The kabbalistic intention is revealed by some letter alterations supported by an alphabetic poem that starts the whole work.
Large margins in the page enable an unprecedentedly detailed Masorah parva supported by a detailed system of internal cross references. His Masoretic predecessors are quoted and commented with a very fair exactitude. Abundant citations of the Hilleli Codex provide an irreplaceable information about that lost Masoretic Bible from ca 600 CE.
Ibn Gaon considered his work as too important for being used by the diaspora. He emigrated with it in 1315 to the Holy Land. In the 14th century a Davidic prince in Baghdad is identified at its owner. It was sold for $ 7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on September 10, 2024, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The colophon on page 753 identifies the maker, dates the completion to 5072 matching 1312 CE, locates it in his hometown Soria (Castile) and identifies the contents as the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible arranged into Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings.
The possibly autograph illuminations are assimilating Christian and Jewish styles. An Islamic influence also appear in some multi-lobed gilded archways. The kabbalistic intention is revealed by some letter alterations supported by an alphabetic poem that starts the whole work.
Large margins in the page enable an unprecedentedly detailed Masorah parva supported by a detailed system of internal cross references. His Masoretic predecessors are quoted and commented with a very fair exactitude. Abundant citations of the Hilleli Codex provide an irreplaceable information about that lost Masoretic Bible from ca 600 CE.
Ibn Gaon considered his work as too important for being used by the diaspora. He emigrated with it in 1315 to the Holy Land. In the 14th century a Davidic prince in Baghdad is identified at its owner. It was sold for $ 7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on September 10, 2024, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1415 the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor
2026 SOLD for $ 6.4M by Sotheby's
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was sold for $ 6.4M by Sotheby's on February 5, 2026, lot 1. The video is shared by the auction house.
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor is a rare and exceptional 15th-century illuminated Hebrew prayer book (mahzor), scheduled for auction as a single-lot sale by Sotheby's in New York on February 5, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST. It carries an estimate of $5 million to $7 million USD, reflecting its status as one of the most significant illustrated Hebrew manuscripts to appear at auction in recent years.
Detailed Overview
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor stands out as a masterpiece of medieval Jewish book arts, embodying faith, artistic refinement, and cultural survival. Illuminated Hebrew mahzorim from this period are exceptionally rare due to destruction during persecutions, expulsions, and wars across centuries. This example is particularly notable for being produced by a Jewish scribe-artist (rather than commissioned from Christian workshops, as was more common), reflecting Jewish agency in medieval book production.
Its survival through the centuries—despite the fragility of Jewish life in late medieval Europe and the devastations of the Holocaust—makes it a powerful symbol of continuity, memory, and resilience. Experts describe it as "a luminous witness" to Jewish cultural perseverance. In the broader field of Hebrew manuscripts, it ranks among the elite few privately held examples of such quality and historical depth, comparable to treasures like the Rothschild Miscellany or other major illuminated prayer books now in museums. Its restitution and upcoming auction underscore ongoing efforts to address Holocaust-era looted art while bringing rare artifacts back into view for scholars, collectors, and the public.
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor is a rare and exceptional 15th-century illuminated Hebrew prayer book (mahzor), scheduled for auction as a single-lot sale by Sotheby's in New York on February 5, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST. It carries an estimate of $5 million to $7 million USD, reflecting its status as one of the most significant illustrated Hebrew manuscripts to appear at auction in recent years.
Detailed Overview
- Creation and Physical Details: Completed in 1415 in Vienna (or the surrounding region), the manuscript was written and illuminated by a Jewish scribe-artist named Moses son of Menachem. It is a monumental High Holiday prayer book (mahzor), containing liturgical texts for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and other festivals. The illumination features burnished gold panels, intricate painted foliage, vivid drawings of fantastical creatures, and other decorative elements influenced by the Lake Constance School (Bodensee region), a late medieval tradition of book illumination flourishing around the tri-border area of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
- Artistic and Cultural Context: It belongs to an extremely small group of surviving illustrated Hebrew prayer books from medieval Europe—fewer than 20 are known today, with even fewer in private hands (most are held by institutions). Created by a Jewish artist during a time of significant historical precarity for Jewish communities in Europe, it exemplifies extraordinary artistic sophistication amid adversity.
- Provenance and Historical Journey: The manuscript entered the Rothschild family in 1842, when Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (of the Viennese branch) purchased it in Nuremberg for 151 gold coins as a gift to his son Anselm Salomon von Rothschild. It later passed through the Austrian Rothschild family collection in Vienna. During the Nazi era, it was seized/looted from the family (specifically linked to Alphonse von Rothschild). Post-war, it was absorbed into an Austrian national collection (likely the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek), where it remained largely unrecognized for decades. It resurfaced in recent years, leading to restitution to the Rothschild heirs in 2023 (following a provenance review and decision under Austrian restitution laws). This "exceptional" or "rarest" provenance—combining medieval origins, prominent Jewish collecting history, Nazi-era looting, and recent restitution—adds immense historical weight to the object.
- Auction Details: Offered as a standalone lot titled "The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor | A Luminous Witness," it will be publicly exhibited at Sotheby's New York (Breuer building) from late January 2026 onward (with some earlier viewings in New York and Los Angeles). The sale follows Sotheby's 2021 record-breaking auction of the Luzzatto Mahzor ($8.3 million), highlighting the strong market for top-tier medieval Judaica.
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor stands out as a masterpiece of medieval Jewish book arts, embodying faith, artistic refinement, and cultural survival. Illuminated Hebrew mahzorim from this period are exceptionally rare due to destruction during persecutions, expulsions, and wars across centuries. This example is particularly notable for being produced by a Jewish scribe-artist (rather than commissioned from Christian workshops, as was more common), reflecting Jewish agency in medieval book production.
Its survival through the centuries—despite the fragility of Jewish life in late medieval Europe and the devastations of the Holocaust—makes it a powerful symbol of continuity, memory, and resilience. Experts describe it as "a luminous witness" to Jewish cultural perseverance. In the broader field of Hebrew manuscripts, it ranks among the elite few privately held examples of such quality and historical depth, comparable to treasures like the Rothschild Miscellany or other major illuminated prayer books now in museums. Its restitution and upcoming auction underscore ongoing efforts to address Holocaust-era looted art while bringing rare artifacts back into view for scholars, collectors, and the public.
This book is an exact contemporary of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (Musée Condé, Chantilly). Through these examples, compare Christian and Jewish prayer books from that period.
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor (completed in 1415 in Vienna or nearby) and Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (begun c. 1412–1416, left unfinished at the deaths of its primary artists and patron) are exact contemporaries from the early 15th century. Both represent pinnacles of late medieval illuminated manuscript production in the International Gothic style, with lavish use of gold leaf, vibrant pigments, intricate foliage, and decorative borders. Yet they diverge profoundly in purpose, patronage, content, artistic agency, and cultural context, reflecting the distinct worlds of Jewish and Christian devotional book arts during this era.
Shared Artistic Context
Primary Type
Christian : Book of Hours: Personal devotional prayer book for laypeople, with fixed prayers (e.g., Hours of the Virgin, Penitential Psalms) recited at canonical hours.
Jewish : Mahzor: Festival prayer book, especially for High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur), containing piyyutim (liturgical poems), special readings, and communal prayers.
Purpose & Use
Christian : Private devotion; portable for aristocratic or wealthy lay use, emphasizing personal piety and the daily cycle of prayer. Often included calendars, zodiacs, and secular elements.
Jewish : Communal/synagogue use during major festivals; focused on seasonal liturgy, repentance, and Jewish calendar events. Less emphasis on daily hours, more on annual cycle.
Patronage
Christian : Elite Christian nobility (e.g., Jean, Duke of Berry, one of the era's greatest manuscript patrons). Commissioned as luxury items to display wealth, piety, and cultural sophistication.
Jewish : Wealthy Jewish individuals or communities, often in Ashkenazi regions. The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was likely commissioned by a Jewish patron; produced amid historical precarity (post-Black Death persecutions, expulsions). Fewer surviving examples due to destruction.
Artists & Production
Christian : Typically Christian artists (e.g., Limbourg brothers, court illuminators). Workshops often involved multiple hands; could include non-religious scenes (e.g., labors of the months, courtly life).
Jewish : Frequently Jewish scribe-artists (soferim who also illuminated). The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was written and illuminated by Moses son of Menachem, a Jewish professional—reflecting rare Jewish agency in artistic creation, unlike many Hebrew manuscripts outsourced to Christian workshops.
Iconography & Content
Christian : Figural and narrative-heavy: Biblical scenes (e.g., Annunciation, Crucifixion), saints, zodiac/anatomical man, aristocratic pursuits, peasants at work. Secular elements (e.g., detailed landscapes, castles) blend with religious.
Jewish : Aniconic tendencies in many cases, but the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor includes fantastical creatures, foliage, and gold panels—avoiding direct human figural representation of sacred figures. Focus on decorative word panels, initial letters, and symbolic motifs tied to liturgy (no narrative cycles like Christian hours).
Scale & Rarity
Christian : Hundreds survive; Books of Hours were the most common illuminated genre by the 15th century. Très Riches Heures is exceptional for its scale (206 folios, 66 large miniatures).
Jewish : Extremely rare: Fewer than 20 illustrated medieval Hebrew mahzorim survive overall; only a handful from this period in private hands. Destruction from persecutions limited preservation.
Cultural Significance
Christian : Embodies aristocratic Christian devotion, courtly splendor, and emerging naturalism. Symbol of late medieval luxury and the International Gothic's refinement.
Jewish : Represents Jewish cultural resilience and artistic sophistication amid adversity (e.g., post-1348/49 pogroms). Highlights Jewish participation in contemporary book arts while maintaining distinct religious identity.
Broader Insights
While Les Très Riches Heures exemplifies the height of Christian aristocratic patronage—reflecting a worldview where devotion intertwined with displays of wealth, nature, and social hierarchy—the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor embodies Jewish continuity and creativity in a far more precarious environment. Christian books like the Très Riches Heures often incorporated secular realism (e.g., detailed peasant labors) alongside piety, whereas Jewish illuminated manuscripts prioritized textual sanctity, decorative abstraction, and liturgical symbolism, with figural elements more restrained or fantastical.
Both manuscripts stand as "luminous witnesses" to their eras: one to the opulent Christian courts of France, the other to the enduring faith and artistry of medieval Ashkenazi Jewry. Their contemporaneity highlights shared artistic vocabularies across religious divides, yet underscores profound differences in function, audience, and survival.
The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor (completed in 1415 in Vienna or nearby) and Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (begun c. 1412–1416, left unfinished at the deaths of its primary artists and patron) are exact contemporaries from the early 15th century. Both represent pinnacles of late medieval illuminated manuscript production in the International Gothic style, with lavish use of gold leaf, vibrant pigments, intricate foliage, and decorative borders. Yet they diverge profoundly in purpose, patronage, content, artistic agency, and cultural context, reflecting the distinct worlds of Jewish and Christian devotional book arts during this era.
Shared Artistic Context
- Style and Techniques: Both draw from the late Gothic aesthetic prevalent in northern Europe around 1400–1420. The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor shows clear influence from the Lake Constance School (Bodensee region, flourishing in the 14th century but lingering into the 15th), with burnished gold panels, painted foliage, fantastical creatures (e.g., unicorns, dragons), and vivid marginal drawings. Les Très Riches Heures, illuminated primarily by the Limbourg brothers (Flemish artists working at the French court), features exquisite naturalism, detailed landscapes, seasonal scenes, and a similar opulent palette of gold, ultramarine, and vermilion. Both employ full-page or large miniatures, historiated initials, and marginal decorations to enhance the text's visual splendor.
- Materials and Craftsmanship: Created on high-quality parchment, both use costly materials (gold leaf, precious pigments) and reflect the era's peak in manuscript illumination, just before printing began to transform book production.
Primary Type
Christian : Book of Hours: Personal devotional prayer book for laypeople, with fixed prayers (e.g., Hours of the Virgin, Penitential Psalms) recited at canonical hours.
Jewish : Mahzor: Festival prayer book, especially for High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur), containing piyyutim (liturgical poems), special readings, and communal prayers.
Purpose & Use
Christian : Private devotion; portable for aristocratic or wealthy lay use, emphasizing personal piety and the daily cycle of prayer. Often included calendars, zodiacs, and secular elements.
Jewish : Communal/synagogue use during major festivals; focused on seasonal liturgy, repentance, and Jewish calendar events. Less emphasis on daily hours, more on annual cycle.
Patronage
Christian : Elite Christian nobility (e.g., Jean, Duke of Berry, one of the era's greatest manuscript patrons). Commissioned as luxury items to display wealth, piety, and cultural sophistication.
Jewish : Wealthy Jewish individuals or communities, often in Ashkenazi regions. The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was likely commissioned by a Jewish patron; produced amid historical precarity (post-Black Death persecutions, expulsions). Fewer surviving examples due to destruction.
Artists & Production
Christian : Typically Christian artists (e.g., Limbourg brothers, court illuminators). Workshops often involved multiple hands; could include non-religious scenes (e.g., labors of the months, courtly life).
Jewish : Frequently Jewish scribe-artists (soferim who also illuminated). The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was written and illuminated by Moses son of Menachem, a Jewish professional—reflecting rare Jewish agency in artistic creation, unlike many Hebrew manuscripts outsourced to Christian workshops.
Iconography & Content
Christian : Figural and narrative-heavy: Biblical scenes (e.g., Annunciation, Crucifixion), saints, zodiac/anatomical man, aristocratic pursuits, peasants at work. Secular elements (e.g., detailed landscapes, castles) blend with religious.
Jewish : Aniconic tendencies in many cases, but the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor includes fantastical creatures, foliage, and gold panels—avoiding direct human figural representation of sacred figures. Focus on decorative word panels, initial letters, and symbolic motifs tied to liturgy (no narrative cycles like Christian hours).
Scale & Rarity
Christian : Hundreds survive; Books of Hours were the most common illuminated genre by the 15th century. Très Riches Heures is exceptional for its scale (206 folios, 66 large miniatures).
Jewish : Extremely rare: Fewer than 20 illustrated medieval Hebrew mahzorim survive overall; only a handful from this period in private hands. Destruction from persecutions limited preservation.
Cultural Significance
Christian : Embodies aristocratic Christian devotion, courtly splendor, and emerging naturalism. Symbol of late medieval luxury and the International Gothic's refinement.
Jewish : Represents Jewish cultural resilience and artistic sophistication amid adversity (e.g., post-1348/49 pogroms). Highlights Jewish participation in contemporary book arts while maintaining distinct religious identity.
Broader Insights
While Les Très Riches Heures exemplifies the height of Christian aristocratic patronage—reflecting a worldview where devotion intertwined with displays of wealth, nature, and social hierarchy—the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor embodies Jewish continuity and creativity in a far more precarious environment. Christian books like the Très Riches Heures often incorporated secular realism (e.g., detailed peasant labors) alongside piety, whereas Jewish illuminated manuscripts prioritized textual sanctity, decorative abstraction, and liturgical symbolism, with figural elements more restrained or fantastical.
Both manuscripts stand as "luminous witnesses" to their eras: one to the opulent Christian courts of France, the other to the enduring faith and artistry of medieval Ashkenazi Jewry. Their contemporaneity highlights shared artistic vocabularies across religious divides, yet underscores profound differences in function, audience, and survival.
> 1417 Persian Manuscripts on Chinese Paper
2020 SOLD for £ 7M by Christie's
The ambition of Timur (Tamerlane) had been to become the Khan of the Mongols and the Caliph of the Muslims. He could not obtain these titles for traditional reasons but he was the most effective conqueror and was never defeated. His capital was Samarkand.
The Timurid empire broke out after his death. His son Shahrukh reigned over Persia and transferred the capital from Samarkand to Herat. He re-established relations with China through the silk road and became immensely wealthy. He did not seek conquests, took the title of sultan and protected Islam.
This political lull occured during the reign of Yongle of the Ming. A first Chinese embassy reaches Herat in 815 AH (1412 CE). China produces porcelain decorated in Muslim taste to serve as a diplomatic gift. The second embassy in 820 AH brought many gifts including porcelain but also silks, brocades, velvets and paper. This embassy is probably the terminus post quem of the Persian books on Chinese paper.
The Chinese luxury paper is thick, and designed to be extremely soft and silky to the touch. The Chinese workshops prepare the folio on a monochrome background in various hues of blue, pink, lavender, yellow and green. They then add an illustration in gold, with speckled patterns and sometimes figurative drawings, without human representation in conformance with the iconographic principles of Islam. The Persian workshops add their text on this preparation.
A dozen Persian manuscripts on Chinese paper are known, including four Qur'ans. One of these Qur'ans, recently discovered, consists of 534 folios 23 x 16 cm, 29 of which have been replaced. The text in Naskh script is written on each page in a 14 x 9.4 cm frame. The binding is Safavid. This book was sold for £ 7M from a lower estimate of £ 600K by Christie's on June 25, 2020, lot 29.
The Timurid empire broke out after his death. His son Shahrukh reigned over Persia and transferred the capital from Samarkand to Herat. He re-established relations with China through the silk road and became immensely wealthy. He did not seek conquests, took the title of sultan and protected Islam.
This political lull occured during the reign of Yongle of the Ming. A first Chinese embassy reaches Herat in 815 AH (1412 CE). China produces porcelain decorated in Muslim taste to serve as a diplomatic gift. The second embassy in 820 AH brought many gifts including porcelain but also silks, brocades, velvets and paper. This embassy is probably the terminus post quem of the Persian books on Chinese paper.
The Chinese luxury paper is thick, and designed to be extremely soft and silky to the touch. The Chinese workshops prepare the folio on a monochrome background in various hues of blue, pink, lavender, yellow and green. They then add an illustration in gold, with speckled patterns and sometimes figurative drawings, without human representation in conformance with the iconographic principles of Islam. The Persian workshops add their text on this preparation.
A dozen Persian manuscripts on Chinese paper are known, including four Qur'ans. One of these Qur'ans, recently discovered, consists of 534 folios 23 x 16 cm, 29 of which have been replaced. The text in Naskh script is written on each page in a 14 x 9.4 cm frame. The binding is Safavid. This book was sold for £ 7M from a lower estimate of £ 600K by Christie's on June 25, 2020, lot 29.
1505 The Rothschild Prayerbook
2014 SOLD for $ 13.6M by Christie's
The printed book cannot claim to achieve the beauty of illuminated manuscripts. Under the Habsburgs, the best Flemish painters illustrate books of great luxury. They have not revealed all their secrets : the artists did not sign and the sponsors are not identified.
One of these masterpieces is known as the Rothschild Prayerbook. It was sold by Christie's for £ 8.6M on July 8, 1999 and for $ 13.6M on January 29, 2014. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
It is a book of hours for the use of Rome (meaning that is based on Roman liturgy), made around 1505 in Ghent or Bruges. In a small format 23 x 16 cm, this book with 252 leaves in luxurious vellum includes 67 large illustrations.
From an iconographic point of view, it is a fabulous collection of religious and liturgical scenes, showing in very fresh colors the life and customs of its time. Decorative borders offer an extended variety of topics.
The styles of these images clearly show that several workshops have co-operated, and comparison with other manuscripts and paintings can identify that it was made by the most renowned artists of their time. Their co-operation in such collective artworks was an extraordinary and unique business of which no direct witnessing has surfaced.
The main illustrators of the Rothschild Prayerbook were Gerard Horenbout who worked at Ghent and Alexander Bening, a member of the guilds of Bruges and Ghent. Simon Bening, son of Alexander, to whom a few images are attributed, will be the last great Flemish illuminator. The style of Gerard David, the leading painter in Bruges at that time, is recognized on several images.
One of these masterpieces is known as the Rothschild Prayerbook. It was sold by Christie's for £ 8.6M on July 8, 1999 and for $ 13.6M on January 29, 2014. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
It is a book of hours for the use of Rome (meaning that is based on Roman liturgy), made around 1505 in Ghent or Bruges. In a small format 23 x 16 cm, this book with 252 leaves in luxurious vellum includes 67 large illustrations.
From an iconographic point of view, it is a fabulous collection of religious and liturgical scenes, showing in very fresh colors the life and customs of its time. Decorative borders offer an extended variety of topics.
The styles of these images clearly show that several workshops have co-operated, and comparison with other manuscripts and paintings can identify that it was made by the most renowned artists of their time. Their co-operation in such collective artworks was an extraordinary and unique business of which no direct witnessing has surfaced.
The main illustrators of the Rothschild Prayerbook were Gerard Horenbout who worked at Ghent and Alexander Bening, a member of the guilds of Bruges and Ghent. Simon Bening, son of Alexander, to whom a few images are attributed, will be the last great Flemish illuminator. The style of Gerard David, the leading painter in Bruges at that time, is recognized on several images.
A very #MerryChristmas to all. Here’s a stunning #nativity scene from the #RothschildPrayerbook! pic.twitter.com/RIVYbiXLjC
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) December 25, 2015Shahnameh
Intro
The most important works of ancient literature had a universal or encyclopaedic goal. The Iliad of Homer, Dante's Divine Comedy and the Shahnameh of Firdausi must be put on the same pedestal.
The Persian poet Firdausi wrote the Shahnameh 1,000 years ago. This Book of Kings collects in 30,000 couplets the epic and heroic stories of his country since the creation of the world until the advent of Islam.
He was misunderstood in his lifetime, like all geniuses, but the Persian kings appreciated later that this text could be used as an apologia for royal power. Shah Isma'il, founder of the Safavid dynasty, commissioned ca 1522 CE the leading artists of his court to illustrate the Shahnameh. That illuminated manuscript was created from 1525 to 1540 in the early reign of his son and successor Shah Tahmasp. That fully completed project includes 258 miniatures skillfully composed with combinations of bright colors..
This magnificent manuscript has been dismantled in the 1970s. One can, or even have to, regret it but the corollary is that each folio coming on the market is considered as a work of art in its own right. The format of the folios is 47 x 32 cm. Panels of text are inserted in columns in the pictures.
The Persian poet Firdausi wrote the Shahnameh 1,000 years ago. This Book of Kings collects in 30,000 couplets the epic and heroic stories of his country since the creation of the world until the advent of Islam.
He was misunderstood in his lifetime, like all geniuses, but the Persian kings appreciated later that this text could be used as an apologia for royal power. Shah Isma'il, founder of the Safavid dynasty, commissioned ca 1522 CE the leading artists of his court to illustrate the Shahnameh. That illuminated manuscript was created from 1525 to 1540 in the early reign of his son and successor Shah Tahmasp. That fully completed project includes 258 miniatures skillfully composed with combinations of bright colors..
This magnificent manuscript has been dismantled in the 1970s. One can, or even have to, regret it but the corollary is that each folio coming on the market is considered as a work of art in its own right. The format of the folios is 47 x 32 cm. Panels of text are inserted in columns in the pictures.
1
1530s Folio 295 attributed to Mirza 'Ali
2022 SOLD for £ 8.1M by Sotheby's
The folio 295 in the standard paper leaf 47 x 32 cm is illustrated in the recto by a gouache and ink 34 x 28 cm that overlaps a rectangular gold frame in its upper and left margins. It integrates a short text in four columns.
This picture is attributed to Mirza 'Ali in the Royal atelier in Tabriz. Turning 20 years old in the early 1530s, Mirza 'Ali, the son of a leading artist of Shah Tahmasp's Shanameh, contributed to that project for about six illustrations. By his skills for details and psychology, he will be arguably the greatest illustrator of the Safavid dynasty.
The action features Rustam, dressed in a leopard skin, recovering the horse Rakhsh from the herd of his arch-enemy in a lush surrounding of trees inhabited with various species of birds including partridges. Another bearded character marks his astonishment by putting a finger in his mouth. Rakhsh means lightning.
The verso has an illuminated 20 line text in black in four columns in the same gold frame as the recto.
This folio was sold for £ 8.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2022, lot 49. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This picture is attributed to Mirza 'Ali in the Royal atelier in Tabriz. Turning 20 years old in the early 1530s, Mirza 'Ali, the son of a leading artist of Shah Tahmasp's Shanameh, contributed to that project for about six illustrations. By his skills for details and psychology, he will be arguably the greatest illustrator of the Safavid dynasty.
The action features Rustam, dressed in a leopard skin, recovering the horse Rakhsh from the herd of his arch-enemy in a lush surrounding of trees inhabited with various species of birds including partridges. Another bearded character marks his astonishment by putting a finger in his mouth. Rakhsh means lightning.
The verso has an illuminated 20 line text in black in four columns in the same gold frame as the recto.
This folio was sold for £ 8.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2022, lot 49. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2
1525-1535 Folio 42 attributed to Aqa Mirak
2011 SOLD for £ 7.4M by Sotheby's
On April 6, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 7.4M from a lower estimate of £ 2M the folio 42 of the original manuscript, lot 78. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The miniature is a 30 x 29 cm gouache heightened with gold, made in Tabriz between 1525 and 1535 CE. It is attributable to Aqa Mirak who was one of the leading masters of the project. The reverse has a text in four columns and two headings. The image overlaps the irregular gold margin on its right side.
It pictures the king Faridun who disguises himself as a fierce dragon to test the courage and loyalty of his three sons. He could rejoice in the result and particularly appreciate the haughty answer made by the youngest: Go your way, dragon, we are the sons of the powerful Faridun.
The miniature of the folio 451 of the Shahnameh is a 21 x 21 cm gouache heightened with silver and gold on a paper 47 x 31 cm. Painted in Tabriz ca 1530, it is attributed to Aqa Mirak assisted by Qasim bin 'Ali. The reverse has a text in four columns.
It pictures Rustam kicking away the boulder pushed by Bahman. This story is not rare in Persian iconography. Closely following the text, the challenging hero is performing a Cossack dance while handling a cup of wine and roasting his onager. This folio was sold for £ 4.8M by Christie's on March 31, 2022, lot 41.
The miniature is a 30 x 29 cm gouache heightened with gold, made in Tabriz between 1525 and 1535 CE. It is attributable to Aqa Mirak who was one of the leading masters of the project. The reverse has a text in four columns and two headings. The image overlaps the irregular gold margin on its right side.
It pictures the king Faridun who disguises himself as a fierce dragon to test the courage and loyalty of his three sons. He could rejoice in the result and particularly appreciate the haughty answer made by the youngest: Go your way, dragon, we are the sons of the powerful Faridun.
The miniature of the folio 451 of the Shahnameh is a 21 x 21 cm gouache heightened with silver and gold on a paper 47 x 31 cm. Painted in Tabriz ca 1530, it is attributed to Aqa Mirak assisted by Qasim bin 'Ali. The reverse has a text in four columns.
It pictures Rustam kicking away the boulder pushed by Bahman. This story is not rare in Persian iconography. Closely following the text, the challenging hero is performing a Cossack dance while handling a cup of wine and roasting his onager. This folio was sold for £ 4.8M by Christie's on March 31, 2022, lot 41.
Celebrating 40 years of pioneering #IslamicArt at Sotheby’s https://t.co/wwDYNq8T6E pic.twitter.com/n8SIMLwc8s
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) February 18, 2016
