During the reign of Alfonso X in Castile from 1252 to 1284 CE, his capital Toledo is a brilliant intellectual center. The reconquest of the south by his father has stabilized that kingdom which integrates the cultural contributions of Islam. Jewish merchants are welcome. Under the direct intervention of the king, inter-confessional teams advance science, literature and law. The Black Death of 1348-1349 CE will put an end to this cultural peace.
On December 20 in New York, Sotheby's sells a complete Hebrew Bible of great luxury assembled as a codex of 476 folios, lot 191 estimated $ 3,5M.
About one working year had been required for its multi-disciplinary team, from the parchment preparer to the binder. The main scribe writes the text while leaving blank the necessary surface for illuminations and marginal notes. The vowels are added by other scribes with another ink color in a thinner line. A controller ensures the conformance of the text sequence.
The parchment is very bright and regular. The writing is by the same hand throughout the book, unlike the mostly non-figurative illuminations that differ according to the texts. The binding is later.
The features of this book, including its almost square format 24 x 19 cm and the layout of most texts in two columns per page, allow to attribute it to the Castilian workshops in the first half of the fourteenth century. The Islamic influence of some ornaments confirms that the ecumenism of King Alfonso was not lost at that time. This dating is consistent with the year 5127 (1366 CE) inscribed on one page by an early owner.
Please watch through this link the slideshow shared by Sotheby's explaining the characteristics of this magnificent Bible and listing the involved professions. Please also watch here below the video shared by Sotheby's.
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On December 20 in New York, Sotheby's sells a complete Hebrew Bible of great luxury assembled as a codex of 476 folios, lot 191 estimated $ 3,5M.
About one working year had been required for its multi-disciplinary team, from the parchment preparer to the binder. The main scribe writes the text while leaving blank the necessary surface for illuminations and marginal notes. The vowels are added by other scribes with another ink color in a thinner line. A controller ensures the conformance of the text sequence.
The parchment is very bright and regular. The writing is by the same hand throughout the book, unlike the mostly non-figurative illuminations that differ according to the texts. The binding is later.
The features of this book, including its almost square format 24 x 19 cm and the layout of most texts in two columns per page, allow to attribute it to the Castilian workshops in the first half of the fourteenth century. The Islamic influence of some ornaments confirms that the ecumenism of King Alfonso was not lost at that time. This dating is consistent with the year 5127 (1366 CE) inscribed on one page by an early owner.
Please watch through this link the slideshow shared by Sotheby's explaining the characteristics of this magnificent Bible and listing the involved professions. Please also watch here below the video shared by Sotheby's.
withdrawn
The earliest-known complete illuminated Hebrew Bible from Spain to ever appear at auction headlines our sale of Important Judaica on 20 December in #NYC. Click ahead to learn more about this remarkable testament from the Golden Age of medieval Spain: https://t.co/TrtpMJcvGN pic.twitter.com/IT0glZfGWM
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) December 6, 2017
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