The Crosby-Schøyen Codex is the world’s oldest manuscript in private ownership. It was recently sold for over three million pounds, equivalent to more than 15 million PLN. The identity of the new buyer remains unknown.
The historic manuscript found a new owner at an auction in London
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was recently put up for auction in London at Christie’s auction house. The starting bid was 1.7 million pounds. According to the AFP news agency, the manuscript ultimately sold for 3.65 million pounds, approximately 15.44 million PLN. The codex previously belonged to a Norwegian businessman who had already been collecting books from Martin Schøyen’s collection. The reason for the sale of this historic artifact has not been disclosed by the media. As reported by the BBC, a spokesperson for Christie’s said the identity of the buyer could not be revealed due to client confidentiality.
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex is at least 1,600 years old
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was created in Alexandria, in present-day Egypt. The manuscript is at least 1,600 years old and was written in the Coptic language. It was produced in one of the earliest Christian monasteries.
The manuscript is of "enormous significance as a testimony to the earliest spread of Christianity around the Mediterranean basin" - said Christie’s senior specialist in books and manuscripts, Eugenio Donadoni, in an interview with the BBC.
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex contains complete texts of two biblical books, the Book of Jonah and the First Epistle of Peter, as well as an Easter homily.
The monks in Upper Egypt, in the oldest Christian monastery, used this very book to celebrate the earliest Easter observances, only a few hundred years after Christ
- Donadoni explained.
