Rare 14th-century Hebrew Bible will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s

A rare, 14th-century handwritten Hebrew Bible from Spain will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s New York this month.

The medieval work, adorned with calligraphic art, is a Tanakh, or Five Books of Moses plus the Book of Prophets and Writings. It is estimated to fetch between $1.5 and $2.5 million when it is up for sale on Dec. 17.

“Beautifully scribed Hebrew Bibles from 700 years ago are really rare,” said Sharon Mintz, Sotheby’s international senior specialist of Judaica. “They very rarely come up for auction.”

The Spanish Bible is unique, she added, owing to the micrographic designs in the margins featuring Masoretic text — accents, vowels and cantillation, plus explanations that indicate how the Hebrew and Aramaic of Jewish texts should be read.

“A Rare Hebrew Bible with Micrograph