Sotheby’s Judaica specialist Sharon LIberman Mintz said: “[Ben Simeon] is one of very few we know by name, and this manuscript is replete with illustrations. He is really engaged with the text.
“When it’s talking about Chanukah prayers he shows a menorah, he has a little moon to signify the new month and in the Haggadah section he drew the basket which is part of the Italian Passover tradition.”
A Roman Rite mahzor scribed in Italy in around 1500 features gold leaf to illuminate the maror from a seder plate[Missing Credit]
Also on sale is a Roman Rite mahzor scribed in Italy in around 1500.
Mintz says: “It starts with these fantastically decorated pages – garlands and pearls, flowers and crowns – but these are by Christian artists for whom room was left to decorate the pages by Jewish scribes.
“They use richly-coloured pigments and gold leaf to illuminate not only the words but items like the maror from the seder plate.”
A Bible from Germany in 1300 with monochrome decorations and alternate verses in Hebrew and Aramaic stands almost half a metre tall.
There is some question as to how it was used given its size and 12kg weight, according to Mintz: “It’s too massive to be able to carry to a synagogue. All the evidence we have suggests this was for private use rather than a communal book, made monumental in order to honour the Torah, whereas the two mahzors could have been carried to synagogue and used there daily.”
The fourth book is an illustrated manuscript of Sefer Mitvot Gadol, a legal compendium by 13th century French rabbi Moses ben Jacob de Coucy. Mintz says the works trace the evolution of Hebrew manuscript production from the mediaeval Ashkenazi world to Renaissance Italy.
“They offer a rare glimpse into the cultural exchanges, artistic achievement and scholarly traditions that shaped Jewish life across Europe. These manuscripts stand among the most compelling survivals of the medieval and Renaissance Jewish world.
“They demonstrate the extraordinary richness of Jewish book culture at moments of profound intellectual and artistic creativity.”
Sotheby’s “Magnificent Judaica” sale also includes an 18th century silver Chevra Kadisha flagon used by the Rothschilds for more than a century, which is expected to fetch several hundred thousand pounds.
The four manuscripts will be on show at Sotheby’s in London from December 4 to December 9. The auction will take place in New York on December 17.
