Syriac New Testament - photo 1
Syriac New Testament - photo 2
Syriac New Testament - photo 3
Syriac New Testament - photo 4
Syriac New Testament - photo 5
Syriac New Testament - photo 6
Syriac New Testament - photo 7
Syriac New Testament - photo 8

Syriac New Testament

Lot 5
11.06.2024 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 150 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1214871
Lot 5 | Syriac New Testament
Estimate value
£ 150 000 – 200 000
Syriac New Testament
Peshitta New Testament, in Syriac, decorated manuscript on vellum [Eastern Syria, late 9th to 10th century]
A substantial survival of a 9th/10th century Syriac Peshitta New Testament, probably the oldest and most extensive in private hands, in an early medieval binding.

248 x 182mm. 187 leaves, collation: 16, 28, 39, 4-910, 1012, 11-128, 1312, 148, 1512, 16-178, 1812, 19-208, originally 30 numbered gatherings of which 20 survive, modern foliation in pencil followed here, single column of 28-29 lines written in a very fine and regular East Syriac estrangelo, fairly fully vocalised, punctuated, and accented, written space: 205 x 125mm, contemporary marginal notes of a masoretic nature in a cursive hand, superscriptions to books and major punctuation in red, added after the gatherings had been put together, gathering numbers provided in centre of lower margins of the first and 10th leaf of each gathering (lacking 9 gatherings at the beginning and 25 other mostly isolated leaves, edges stained and darkened throughout, some cockling, opening leaves frayed and defective, but otherwise well-preserved and in good condition).

Binding:
Early medieval, perhaps original, wooden boards with remains of dark brown calf, blind-stamped with double-ruled diamond pattern, without spine, revealing stitching, green and white knotted endbands (surviving calf a little warped, boards a little cracked). In a fitted box.

Provenance:
(1) The manuscript was produced in the area which is now Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq, and was probably taken to Georgia by one of several groups of Syriac Christians who migrated there in the middle ages.

(2) Sam Fogg, acquired in 1995 by:

(3) The Schøyen Collection, MS 2080.

Contents:
Peshitta New Testament, with the Gospels of Luke, John, Acts and the Epistles, opening on f.1 with Luke 14:27 and ending on f.187v with Heb.13:13 (lacking Matthew 1:1-Luke 14:7; Luke 18:8-22:9; Luke 23:49-John 2:1; John 19:6-20:9; Acts 27:2-27:21; Acts 27:43-28:20; 1 Peter 1:24-2:20; 1 Timothy 6:2-2 Timothy 2:9; Hebrews 5:12-9:6; and Hebrews 13:14-13:25). The Peshitta New Testament ends at with Hebrews and does not include the Revelations of John, which is not canonical in Eastern Churches.

The Peshitta ('simple', 'common', 'straight', or 'vulgate') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition. General academic consensus maintains that the Old Testament was translated into Syriac from Biblical Hebrew at some point in the 2nd century, and that the New Testament was translated from Koine Greek, probably in the early 5th century. This New Testament originally excluded certain disputed or non-canonical books (namely 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelations, as in the present manuscript). The New Testament of the Peshitta often reflects the Byzantine text-type, although with some variations. The oldest extant text is dated by colophon to 534 (British Library, Add MS 14459). There are some 50 extant Peshitta manuscripts dating from the 6th to the 10th centuries, all in public institutions, which likely makes the present manuscript the oldest Syriac New Testament in private hands.

An earlier cataloguer noted how the present manuscript 'is comparable in every way with the famous Yonan Codex, sold at Sotheby's on 24th June 1986, lot 129, one of a class of manuscripts which were once thought to be of the seventh or eighth century but which are now usually considered to be of the ninth, tenth, or possibly eleventh century. It is noteworthy that even the pattern of stamping on the covers is of the same kind as found on the Yonan Codex'.

Shahe (Syriac chapter) numbers are given in two series: continuously throughout the New Testament, [1]-165; and a separate sequence for each Gospel (Luke [1]-[23], John [1]-20); Acts and Catholic Epistles; and the Pauline Epistles (1-55). For Acts and the Catholic Epistles the manuscript provides for two systems: the first originally numbered these together (1-32); thus the beginning of James = shaha 26, and this continues to the end of 1 Peter; 1 John, however, is not numbered 31, as the first sequence would require, but 6, which implies that the Catholic Epistles were also sometimes given a separate sequence, with James beginning again at 1.

The marginal notes mostly specify matters of accentuation and correct pronunciation, but there are also a small number of exegetical notes, sometimes in a slightly later hand: for example Nicodemus (John 3:1) is identified as 'the father of Stephan the martyr who was stoned'; at the end of 1 Corinthians a later hand has added 'peth (game) [=stichoi]:1022'.
Place of origin:Asia, Syria
Auction house category:Books and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
11.06.2024 – 11.06.2024
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.
?>