Tue. Nov 5th, 2024
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A 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible that is one of the world’s oldest surviving biblical manuscripts has sold for $US38 million ($57 million) in New York. 

The Codex Sassoon, a leather-bound, handwritten parchment volume containing a nearly complete Hebrew Bible, was purchased by former US ambassador to Romania Alfred Moses

He bought it on behalf of the American Friends of ANU and donated it to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, where it will join the collection, Sotheby’s, who ran the auction, said in statement.

The manuscript was exhibited at the ANU Museum in March as part of a worldwide tour before the auction.

Sotheby’s Judaica specialist Sharon Liberman Mintz said the $US38 million price tag, which includes the auction house’s fee, “reflects the profound power, influence, and significance of the Hebrew Bible, which is an indispensable pillar of humanity”.

The 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible is one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts.()

It is one of highest prices for a manuscript sold at auction.

In 2021, a rare copy of the US constitution sold for $US43 million.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester sold for $US31 million in 1994.

Ms Mintz said she was “absolutely delighted” that Codex Sassoon would be making its “grand and permanent return to Israel, on display for the world to see”. 

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