"Historic auction": Codex Sassoon sold for more than 38 million dollars at Sotheby's, in New York
"The Bible was purchased for the Association of Friends of the 'Museum of the Jewish People' in the United States with the assistance of the generous gift of the Chairman of the Museum's International Honorary Board, Ambassador Alfred Moses and his family, and will be presented as part of the museum's permanent exhibition in the coming weeks."
Le Codex Sassoon, the oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible in the world, sold for $38,1 million at an auction at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday.
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
This leather-bound manuscript scroll, believed to have been made between 880 and 960, was purchased by Alfred Moses, the former US Ambassador to Romania, on behalf of the American Friends of the ANU, then donated to this museum, the Museum of Jewish people located in Tel Aviv, Israel.
For Sotheby's, it is a "historic auction".
On his page Instagram, the museum is delighted with this donation which reminds us that it is the "most expensive Jewish manuscript ever sold".
"The Bible was purchased for the Association of Friends of the 'Museum of the Jewish People' in the United States with the assistance of the generous gift of the Chairman of the Museum's International Honorary Board, Ambassador Alfred Moses and his family, and will be presented as part of the museum's permanent exhibition in the coming weeks."
Sharon Liberman Mintz, a specialist at Sotheby's Judaica, said she was "absolutely delighted with today's monumental result and that the Codex Sassoon will soon make its grand and permanent return to Israel, on display to the world."
MC
