Dwarf people really exist!
12 September 2023
Sotheby's auction of world's oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible
The world's oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible will be auctioned in May and could fetch a whopping $50 million. The Sassoon Codex, as the more than thousand-year-old book is called after its best-known owner, David Solomon Sassoon, who died in 1942, will go under the hammer in May, the auction house Sotheby's announced in New York on Wednesday.The value of the Hebrew Bible, which dates from around AD 900, is estimated at between $30 million and $50 million, Richard Austin, Sotheby's director of ancient books and writings, told AFP . With such a final bid, it would be "one of the most expensive manuscripts ever sold".Austin pointed out that with the Sassoon Codex, a valuable copy of the "Founding Text of Civilization" is being auctioned. There is hardly any other text "that has had more influence in the history of mankind than the Bible".The Sassoon Codex is written largely in Hebrew, but also contains ancient Greek and Aramaic passages. The book is in exceptionally good condition, only a few pages are missing.Sotheby's explained that the valuable manuscript belonged to important collectors of the 20th century. It is possible that it will now be acquired by an institution for further study and research.Sotheby's presents itself as the leading auction house in the auction of historical documents. In November 2021, the auction house auctioned off an original of the United States Constitution for a record price of $43 million. The buyer was US billionaire Kenneth Griffin, head of investment firm Citadel, who agreed to loan the historically significant document to a museum in Arkansas.
