FOLIO ETHIOPIAN Coptic BIBLE Manuscript ANTIQUE Handwritten GE\'EZ Vellum OCCULT
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FOLIO ETHIOPIAN Coptic BIBLE Manuscript ANTIQUE Handwritten GE\'EZ Vellum OCCULT:
$605.00
You are offerding on a true piece of Biblical history!
Presenting a rare FOLIO SIZED NEARLY 12\" TALL ancient Coptic Ethiopian Bible/Psalm/Prayer Book w/ great aging throughout, LARGE AND ANCIENT COLOR HAND PAINTED ICONS AND ART, complete with a fantastic and quite large primitive wood and stamped leather binding! Written in the Ethiopic (Ge\'ez) script, a Semitic language that is no longer spoken, but is still used for liturgical and other religious purposes by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The subject of these \"Bibles\" are generally always Christian, but actual content varies. Dating Ethiopian manuscripts is very difficult as scribes copied old monastic manuscripts using the same materials as had been used for centuries, and have been as old as the 14th century; this carries many examples of an older copy, with original vellum animal skin pages, icons and text well aged, worn and read, as shown with text, 2 full page detailed color icons depicting intricate and detailed Biblical scenes, as well as numerous simple illustrations/geometric color borders, a few with small iconic figures drawn in and a few using large capitals (very ancient looking ). Folio, bound in hand tied leather wrapped boards with the leaves interlaced and bound with aged twine and sinew, as shown. The Bible presents nearly 12\"tall, almost 9\" wide and 2\" thick, a rare large folio hardly ever seen this size. The s;ine leather is peeling and lacking a small portion, as shown, also the leather has some expected age and rubbing, but the stamped cross and designs are still very visible. The highlight is the2 gorgeous hand painted icons in vivid color and detail, as shown. A much older example, we could loosely guess the book originated sometime in the 17th or 18th century, possibly earlier, with heavier aging and wear to the vellum leaves, rubbed text, annotations, the faded icon drawings, as well as the condition of the text and binding (some fading, age and wear; wear to the covers, as shown, etc )- a sure indicator of many centuries of use. A majority of the text are incantations to protect the owner from supernatural forces, combined with what looks to be possibly a Psalter, liturgical prayers, or the Bible itself. Written in red/black, as shown, the red indicating sacred words spoken by the savior, intermixed with the aforementioned 2 color religious scene icons, some simple artwork/ decorative headings here and there.Interestingly, at the upper corner are some red fabric ties affixed to each new section (marked by a geometric border), for easy access, quite like early Catholic Missals used for the Canon Missae. There is some obvious age to the interior of this example, way more than what is normal for these rare gems. There are 110+ leaves/220 or so pages in this, as shown, with 2 full page hand painted color icons. Obtained in an online sale direct from Ethiopia.
A true treasure, these have sold for $1,000s of dollars, and are extremely rare and unique, especially with the RARE large size, many pages, old aged hand-painted icons and in such an antiquated format. Best of luck!!
FOLIO ETHIOPIAN Coptic BIBLE Manuscript ANTIQUE Handwritten GE\'EZ Vellum OCCULT:
$605.00