An ancient Egyptian book, believed to be one of the oldest in existence and written at the dawn of Christianity, is set to be auctioned in June in London. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex, written in Coptic on papyrus between 250-350 AD, is estimated to have sale value of $2.6 million to $3.8 million, according to Christie’s.
“It’s right at that period, that transitional period when papyrus scroll starts turning into codex form,” said Eugenio Donadoni, Christie’s Senior Specialist, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts. “So, books as we know them today. And what we have in this book is the earliest known texts of two books of the Bible.”
The 104 pages (52 leaves) were meticulously penned over 40 years at an upper Egyptian monastery by a single scribe
The 104 pages (52 leaves) were meticulously penned over 40 years at an upper Egyptian monastery by a single scribe. The codex contains the Book of Jonah and the first Epistle of Peter.
Donadoni highlighted that only a small number of books from the third and fourth centuries have survived, thanks to Egypt’s arid climate, which aided in their preservation.
“All the major finds of Christian manuscripts that we had in the 20th century and at the end of the 19th century are all concentrated in Egypt for those very precise climactic conditions,” he stated.
Discovered in Egypt in the 1950s, the codex was initially acquired by the University of Mississippi and remained there until 1981. Dr. Martin Schoyen, a Norwegian manuscript collector, acquired the codex in 1988. It is now being auctioned along with other highlights from his Shoyen Collection, one of the largest private manuscript collections globally. The codex is currently on display at Christie’s New York from April 2 to April 9, with the auction scheduled to take place in London on June 11.