1482 Torah book fetches record $3.87 million at Paris auction
(JTA) — A 15th-century book of the Torah sold for a record $3.87 million at an auction in Paris.
Christie’s, which organized Wednesday’s auction, listed the buyer as “anonymous” and said the sale broke the mark for the most expensive Hebrew-language book. Three buyers attempted to outbid each other over the telephone, the news website actualitte.com reported Thursday.
The book was printed in Hebrew in Bologna in January 1482, according to Christie’s.
“The volume represents the very first appearance in print of all five books of the Pentateuch as well as the first to which vocalization and cantillation marks have been added,” the Christie’s website said.
Prior to the auction, Christie’s estimated the item’s worth at up to 1.5 million euros, or $2.08 million.
The back of the copy bears the signature of three 16th- and 17th-century censors testifying to its presence in an Italian library until at least the mid-17th century, according to Christie’s.
Barnett Newman’s stark Black Fire 1 was the top lot of
the night, selling for $84.2 million.
An encouraging part of what was obviously a very managed
sale was that 11 artists set new world auction records and these were
not the usual suspects like Basquiat, Warhol or Rothko, although those
auction house darlings all featured among the 10 most expensive lots.
Instead, Barnett Newman’s stark Black Fire 1 was the top lot of
the night, selling for $84.2 million. That was pretty much double the
previous auction record for a Newman work of $43.8 million, which was
set just last May at Sotheby’s.Christie’s, which organized Wednesday’s auction, listed the buyer as “anonymous” and said the sale broke the mark for the most expensive Hebrew-language book. Three buyers attempted to outbid each other over the telephone, the news website actualitte.com reported Thursday.
The book was printed in Hebrew in Bologna in January 1482, according to Christie’s.
“The volume represents the very first appearance in print of all five books of the Pentateuch as well as the first to which vocalization and cantillation marks have been added,” the Christie’s website said.
Prior to the auction, Christie’s estimated the item’s worth at up to 1.5 million euros, or $2.08 million.
The back of the copy bears the signature of three 16th- and 17th-century censors testifying to its presence in an Italian library until at least the mid-17th century, according to Christie’s.
Barnett Newman’s stark Black Fire 1 was the top lot of
the night, selling for $84.2 million.Joan Mitchell’s vibrant 1960 painting Untitled set a new world record for a female artist when it sold for $11.9 million. The record had previously been held by Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, whose Apres le dejeuner sold for $10.9 million at Christie’s in London in February 2013. And Alexander Calder’s Flying Fish mobile, suspended from the ceiling above the sales room audience last night, sold for $25.9 million, beating the previous record set for the artist when another mobile sold for $18.5 million at Christie’s in 2012.
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New Artists Set Auction Records At Christie's Biggest Ever Sale
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Over half of the art may have been guaranteed to sell before
Christie’s post-war and contemporary art auction even got underway in
New York last night, but the auction house set a new record for a single
sale, selling $744 million of art. That eclipsed the previous record
that it set when it raised $691.6 million during its big post-war and
contemporary auction last November.
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An encouraging part of what was obviously a very managed sale was that 11 artists set new world auction records and these were not the usual suspects like Basquiat, Warhol or Rothko, although those auction house darlings all featured among the 10 most expensive lots. Instead, Barnett Newman’s stark Black Fire 1 was the top lot of the night, selling for $84.2 million. That was pretty much double the previous auction record for a Newman work of $43.8 million, which was set just last May at Sotheby’s
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.In doing so, it set new levels for any Hebrew printed book and indeed for any printed book sold in France.
The Torah, printed in Hebrew in Bologna, marked the first appearance in print of all five books that make up the Pentateuch and was the first to which vocalisation and cantillation marks, essential to the reading and chanting of the text, were added. more
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.In doing so, it set new levels for any Hebrew printed book and indeed for any printed book sold in France.
The Torah, printed in Hebrew in Bologna, marked the first appearance in print of all five books that make up the Pentateuch and was the first to which vocalisation and cantillation marks, essential to the reading and chanting of the text, were added. more
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.In doing so, it set new levels for any Hebrew printed book and indeed for any printed book sold in France.
The Torah, printed in Hebrew in Bologna, marked the first appearance in print of all five books that make up the Pentateuch and was the first to which vocalisation and cantillation marks, essential to the reading and chanting of the text, were added.
Until last month, just two copies had come to auction in over 100 years. The first, in 1970, was printed on vellum – as indeed were most copies – and complete, while the second, sold for £310,000 at Christie’s in 1998, was on paper and lacked eight pages. This third copy, newly discovered in a French private collection, was the highlight of the Christie’s Paris sale of April 30. Printed on vellum and lacking only a rear free endpaper, it almost doubled the high estimate to sell for €2.4m (£1,971,360).
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.In doing so, it set new levels for any Hebrew printed book and indeed for any printed book sold in France.
The Torah, printed in Hebrew in Bologna, marked the first appearance in print of all five books that make up the Pentateuch and was the first to which vocalisation and cantillation marks, essential to the reading and chanting of the text, were added.
Until last month, just two copies had come to auction in over 100 years. The first, in 1970, was printed on vellum – as indeed were most copies – and complete, while the second, sold for £310,000 at Christie’s in 1998, was on paper and lacked eight pages. This third copy, newly discovered in a French private collection, was the highlight of the Christie’s Paris sale of April 30. Printed on vellum and lacking only a rear free endpaper, it almost doubled the high estimate to sell for €2.4m (£1,971,360).
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.In doing so, it set new levels for any Hebrew printed book and indeed for any printed book sold in France.
The Torah, printed in Hebrew in Bologna, marked the first appearance in print of all five books that make up the Pentateuch and was the first to which vocalisation and cantillation marks, essential to the reading and chanting of the text, were added.
Until last month, just two copies had come to auction in over 100 years. The first, in 1970, was printed on vellum – as indeed were most copies – and complete, while the second, sold for £310,000 at Christie’s in 1998, was on paper and lacked eight pages. This third copy, newly discovered in a French private collection, was the highlight of the Christie’s Paris sale of April 30. Printed on vellum and lacking only a rear free endpaper, it almost doubled the high estimate to sell for €2.4m (£1,971,360).
Rare 1482 Torah breaks two records
A
rare 1482 Torah, or Pentateuch, which is considered by many to stand
alongside the Gutenberg Bible as a monument of early printing, broke two
records when it sold for nearly £2m at Christie’s Paris.1482 Torah book fetches record $3.87 million at Paris auction
(JTA) — A 15th-century book of the Torah sold for a record $3.87 million at an auction in Paris.
Christie’s, which organized Wednesday’s auction, listed the buyer as “anonymous” and said the sale broke the mark for the most expensive Hebrew-language book. Three buyers attempted to outbid each other over the telephone, the news website actualitte.com reported Thursday.
The book was printed in Hebrew in Bologna in January 1482, according to Christie’s.
“The volume represents the very first appearance in print of all five books of the Pentateuch as well as the first to which vocalization and cantillation marks have been added,” the Christie’s website said.
Prior to the auction, Christie’s estimated the item’s worth at up to 1.5 million euros, or $2.08 million.
The back of the copy bears the signature of three 16th- and 17th-century censors testifying to its presence in an Italian library until at least the mid-17th century, according to Christie’s.
Christie’s, which organized Wednesday’s auction, listed the buyer as “anonymous” and said the sale broke the mark for the most expensive Hebrew-language book. Three buyers attempted to outbid each other over the telephone, the news website actualitte.com reported Thursday.
The book was printed in Hebrew in Bologna in January 1482, according to Christie’s.
“The volume represents the very first appearance in print of all five books of the Pentateuch as well as the first to which vocalization and cantillation marks have been added,” the Christie’s website said.
Prior to the auction, Christie’s estimated the item’s worth at up to 1.5 million euros, or $2.08 million.
The back of the copy bears the signature of three 16th- and 17th-century censors testifying to its presence in an Italian library until at least the mid-17th century, according to Christie’s.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/05/01/news-opinion/world/torah-book-fetches-record-3-87-million-at-paris-auction#ixzz31ymJsQ2a
