260725 Rare Ethiopian Coptic bible or manuscript in leather priest bag Ethiopia.

Rare Ethiopian Coptic bible or manuscript in leather priest bag - Ethiopia.

This manuscript  measures approximately  17 cm x 16.5 cm.

The bag measures approximately 23 cm x 21 cm.

This manuscript is dated begin of the 19th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Important ancient Ethiopian religious manuscript written in Ge’ez script (traditional liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church).

Presence of an old circular seal with a cross pattern and Ge’ez inscription, likely religious or monastic. 

The manuscript is preserved in an exceptional set of double bag/double transport sleeve, placed in a leather goatskin, entirely hand-sewn. The two bags fit together perfectly, which is rare to find still completely together. The whole exhibits: a strong, old-fashioned patina that is cohesive; a traditional, hand-sewn binding; authentic wear from religious use; red and black pigments typical of such manuscripts; a homogeneous writing structure; an old seal of probable religious origin. 

The manuscript appears likely to date from the late 18th or early 19th century. No modern restoration is visible. The whole has remained in its original state of conservation. 

This ancient manuscript with 254 pages or 127 leaves is written on both sides on goatskin/vellum in black and red all in classical Ethiopian script, known as Ge'ez, which survives today only as a church language. 

Ge'ez dates back to 3000 years BC and in the 5th century the entire Bible was translated from Greek into Ge'ez. The so-called Garima Gospels form the world's oldest illustrated Christian Bible, was written in Ge'ez in the 6th century and is still in an Ethiopian monastery.

The wooden endpapers of the Bible offered here are made of almond wood and for this copy covered with red dyed sheepskin and provided with a handmade blind embossing. The leaves were cut from goatskin and folded in half. 

A rare collector's item, ideal for collectors of Oriental manuscripts, Christian art from Africa, religious ethnography, or ancient bibliophilia.