Second Sotheby’sone of the most distinguished auction houses in the world, the Codex Sassoon has all the requisites to be the most valuable historical document ever sold at auction. It is the oldest nearly complete Hebrew Bible in the world, being more than 1,000 years old.
Sotheby’s intends to sell the memorabilia in May for a starting price that it will fluctuate between 30 and 50 million dollars. Historians say the tome was made by a scribe in the late 9th or early 10th century, with around 400 sheets of parchment. Subsequently, the text will travel to Syria, staying in a synagogue which will then be destroyed around the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
According to the invaluable historical document, the one who had been designated as guardian of the tome was Salama bin Abi al-Fakhr, a sage who was supposed to monitor the reconstruction of the destroyed place of worship. However, the code has gone missing for the next 600 years.
The text reappears in 1929, when the British collector David Solomon Sassoon bought it for £350. Il Codex Sassoon remained until 1978 to the heirs of man, as the British Rail Pension Fund bought it for 320,000 then resold it for $3.19 million in 1989.
Today it is owned by Swiss collector Jacqui Safra. Sotheby’s has not disclosed why Safra has chosen to sell it now.
[Sotheby’s]