A Hebrew Bible from medieval Spain, dating back approximately 700 years, is anticipated to command between $5 million and $7 million at auction next month.
Known as the Shem Tov Bible, this remarkable 768-page manuscript, adorned with intricate illustrations, was meticulously crafted on parchment in the early 14th century. The bible is being offered by collector Jaqui Safra, who acquired it through a private sale in 1994. Its previous public auction appearance was in 1984, where it was sold for $825,000 to a private buyer.
“This is an extraordinary masterpiece,” says Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby’s international senior specialist in Judaica, in conversation with Penta’s Abby Schultz. “It is quite rare to see illuminated Hebrew Bibles come onto the market.”
The term “illuminated” refers to the Bible’s elaborate gold and silver leaf embellishments, along with its vivid, colorful pigments.
The manuscript was transcribed by Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, a distinguished scholar born in the late 1270s or early 1280s in Soria, a city located in north-central Spain. Renowned for his expertise in Jewish law and mysticism, Rabbi Ibn Gaon studied under some of the foremost rabbis of his era.
He devoted an indeterminate number of years to the creation of the Shem Tov Bible, carefully ensuring that every letter and illustration was rendered with the utmost precision and beauty.