A rare and significant Egyptian manuscript, dating back to the 5th to 7th centuries, has been sold at Christie’s auction house in London for a staggering £1.25 million.
The manuscript, written in both Palestinian Aramaic and Georgian, is considered one of the most important pieces of Palestinian Christian artifacts to be offered for sale.
The manuscript is a remarkable artifact, featuring an Aramaic dialect that was used by the Christian royal society in Palestine and East Jordan between the 5th and 13th centuries.
This dialect is believed to be the closest language spoken by Christ, making the manuscript a valuable piece of religious history.
The manuscript contains the oldest surviving evidence of the Gospel in the Aramaic dialect and was composed within a living tradition in the Holy Land.
It was written in Georgian script by the scholar John Zosimos, with the bindings dating back to the 10th century.
The bindings, found in the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai, are the oldest known signed and dated bindings in existence.
The bound manuscript measures approximately 200 x 150 mm, with the pages of the main text rotated to be at right angles, cut and folded to create 70 pages of the upper text.
The main scroll is made up of parts of six different manuscripts from two columns written in Palestinian Christian Aramaic. The Georgian texts, dated to AD 979, consist of 22-26 lines written in one column.
The manuscript’s scribe, John Zosimos, signed his name in the liturgical book Khutsuri, written in red. The manuscript’s edges are frayed, the leaves are flat and cleaned with modern repairs, and some of the ink is no longer clearly visible.
The sale of this historic manuscript highlights the significance of Palestinian Christian artifacts and the importance of preserving religious history. The buyer’s identity has not been disclosed, but it is hoped that the manuscript will be preserved and made available for future generations to study and appreciate.