Pseudo-Shenoute - photo 1
Pseudo-Shenoute - photo 2

Pseudo-Shenoute

Lot 1
13.07.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 16 380
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 794353
Lot 1 | Pseudo-Shenoute
Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Pseudo-Shenoute

On Christian Behaviour, Sahidic Coptic manuscript on vellum [Fayoum, 715 Coptic Era, i.e. 998-999 CE]

An exceptional survival of the original Sahidic version of one of the monuments of early Coptic literature. Only two copies of the text are known: the present leaf is a rediscovered missing leaf from British Library Or. 12689.



266 x 249mm. A single leaf. Two columns of 30 visible lines written in upright uncials in brown ink, ruled space: ? x c.179mm. (edges frayed and singed, perhaps from exposure to a fire, lacking lower part of the manuscript, some staining and ink erosion, reverse with remnants of adhesive at top, remains of binding string). Loose on a card mount.



Provenance:

(1) Only two copies of the text are known, one in the Pierpont Morgan Library M.604, the other in the British Library Or.12689, which according to scholars belong to the same homogenous group datable to the second half of the 10th century and similar in formulation, script, extended letters and marginal decoration. The present leaf is from the British Library manuscript, of which another leaf with the colophon was sold at Christie's, 25 November, 1992, lot 32, and from which we know that the manuscript was donated in AH 715 (August 29, SD 998-August 29, AD 999) by a woman from Pilciso¯k to a monastery at the same locality. The importance of that leaf was further enhanced by the discovery that it is also a palimpsest of an 8th-century Coptic Biblical text, appearing on the flesh side of the leaf at 180° to the later text.

(2) The present leaf had already been removed from the British Library manuscript before its acquisition in 1962, and has not apparently been seen by scholars since the 1920s (see B. Layton, Catalogue of Coptic Literary Manuscripts in the British Library acquired since 1906, no 96, pp.105-6).

(3) Purchased from Lark Mason Auctions, N.Y., previously in a Connecticut collection.



For a recent edition of the text of the two surviving manuscripts of Shenoute's 'On Christian Behaviour', see W. Kosack, Shenoute of Atripe De vita christiana: M 604 Pierpont Morgan Library New York / Ms. OR 12689 British-Library/London and Ms. Clarendon Press b. 4, Frg. Bodleian-Library/Oxford, 2013.





Special notice


This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Place of origin:Egypt, Africa
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.07.2022 – 13.07.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>