Cloisters Hebrew Bible

File:Hebrew Bible MET LC TR 50 2018s27.jpg

The Cloisters Hebrew Bible is a Hebrew Bible codex made in the Kingdom of Castile from the early to mid-14th century, with an approximate date prior to 1366.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metcollects/spanish-hebrew-bible|title=Hebrew Bible|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2019-05-25}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired this manuscript from the collection of Jacqui Safra from Sotheby's Judaica auction on 20 December 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/arts/design/hebrew-bible-met-museum.html|title=An Illuminated Hebrew Bible Has a New Home|last=Libbey|first=Peter|date=2017-12-22|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-25|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

History

Hebrew Bibles were produced in Castile during the 1230s, during the reign of Ferdinand III.{{Cite web|url=https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/met-acquires-magnificent-illuminated-hebrew-bible-ahead-sothebys-auction|title=The Met Acquires a Magnificent Illuminated Hebrew Bible Ahead of Sotheby's Auction|website=Fine Books & Collections|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-25}} The era of manuscript making came to an end due to the Black Plague and the Massacre of 1391, followed by the Alhambra Decree and the expulsion of the Jewish communities in Portugal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/met-acquires-magnificent-illuminated-hebrew-bible-ahead-sothebys-auction|title=The Met Acquires a Magnificent Illuminated Hebrew Bible Ahead of Sotheby's Auction|website=Fine Books & Collections|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-25}}

After the expulsion of Jews, the manuscript remained in Thessaloniki for centuries, followed by Alexandria before coming into the hands of Jacqui Safra.{{Cite web|url=https://robbreport.com/shelter/auctions/rare-early-hebrew-bible-from-spain-to-be-offered-at-sothebys-new-york-2767745/|title=Rare Early Hebrew Bible from Spain to be Offered at Sotheby's New York|last=Schuster|first=Angela M. H.|date=2017-12-14|website=Robb Report|language=en|access-date=2019-05-25}} The manuscript was placed on auction by Safra through Sotheby's Judaica Auction on 20 December 2017, with an estimate of $3.5-5 million but it was purchased by the MET pre-auction for an undisclosed amount.{{Cite web|url=https://www.artandobject.com/shorts/met-acquires-rare-hebrew-bible|title=Met Acquires Rare Hebrew Bible|website=Art & Object|language=en|access-date=2019-05-25}}

It is now part of the Cloisters collection, under accession number 2018.59.{{Cite web|title=Hebrew Bible|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/773026|access-date=2019-05-25|website=www.metmuseum.org}}

Manuscript

The manuscript consist of 476 folios.{{Cite web|url=https://robbreport.com/shelter/auctions/rare-early-hebrew-bible-from-spain-to-be-offered-at-sothebys-new-york-2767745/|title=Rare Early Hebrew Bible from Spain to be Offered at Sotheby's New York|last=Schuster|first=Angela M. H.|date=2017-12-14|website=Robb Report|language=en|access-date=2019-05-25}} The first part of the manuscript is heavily gilded 70 folios are decorated with micrography, and the six of the micrographic pages are decorated with horseshoe and double-horseshoes frames. The manuscript is noted to be heavily influenced by Mudéjar and Gothic Design, which was prominent within the Iberian Peninsula. The combination of Judaic, Islamic, and Christian art styles has come to be known as convivencia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/news/met-acquires-magnificent-illuminated-hebrew-bible-ahead-sothebys-auction|title=The Met Acquires a Magnificent Illuminated Hebrew Bible Ahead of Sotheby's Auction|website=Fine Books & Collections|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-25}}

It is one of only three surviving illuminated Hebrew Bibles from fourteenth-century Castile.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2018/hebrew-manuscripts-prato-haggadah-bible|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2019-05-25|title=Text Messages: The Met Cloisters' Hebrew Bible, and the Prato Haggadah }}