Monthly Archives: January 2020

Contextualizing the New Sappho Information

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Mike Holmes of the Museum of the Bible has released some intriguing new information about the Sappho papyrus fragments owned by Hobby Lobby. I posted Mike’s statement here. There really is a lot to unpack with this situation. I want … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Romans, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink, Scott Carroll | 16 Comments

Important Developments with the New Sappho Papyrus

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Mike Holmes of the Museum of the Bible has just released some new discoveries from the Museum’s ongoing provenance research to me and several other people via e-mail. There are several important revelations. Especially important are 1) a stunningly sharp … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Find Stories, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, Scott Carroll | 35 Comments

Dead Sea Scrolls Archival Newsreel Footage

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Pretty much everyone with a passing knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls will recognize the famous ad in The Wall Street Journal (1 June 1954) placed at the request of the Syrian Archbishop Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel. Mar Samuel had … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dead Sea Scrolls, Videos | 16 Comments

More on Dirk Obbink and the Marketing of Cultural Heritage Items

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In The Guardian today, Charlotte Higgins has a follow-up to her longer story on Professor Dirk Obbink. Apparently Professor Obbink bought an important 15th century manuscript at auction in 2014 and then sold it to “an overseas buyer” (at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink | 2 Comments

A New Edition of Sappho by Dirk Obbink

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Following up on the fascinating article on Professor Dirk Obbink by Charlotte Higgins in The Guardian, Roberta Mazza recently revisited her conversations with a representative from Christie’s in 2014 and 2015, which now raise “further questions and doubts on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 8 Comments

MPhil in History of Religions at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

I recently began work as Professor of History of Religions at the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society in Oslo. A big part of my position here is overseeing a masters program in History of Religions: “History of … Continue reading →

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More News on Dirk Obbink and Sappho

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Charlotte Higgins has just published a long story in The Guardian on Dirk Obbink. It is a very nice compilation of what we know and how the stories of the Sappho papyrus and the stolen Oxyrhynchus papyrus intersect. It also … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 17 Comments

A New Edition of the Freer Codex of the Letters of Paul in Greek

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Thanks to Gorgias Press for sending along a copy of the new edition of the Freer Codex of Paul’s letters (Gregory-Aland 016, LDAB 3044) produced by Justin Soderquist and Thomas Wayment. The American railroad magnate Charles Lang Freer bought this … Continue reading →

Posted in Freer Codex of Paul's Letters, Freer Codices | Leave a comment

Publication of the Tchacos-Ferrini Mathematical Codex

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

I see that later this month we can expect the publication of the Tchacos-Ferrini mathematical codex (LDAB 10719, now dubbed by the editors P.Math.). This codex travelled the antiquities market along with a papyrus codex of Exodus in Greek, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Ferrini, Codices, Codicology, Find Stories, Frieda Tchacos, Tchacos-Ferrini Codices, Tchacos-Ferrini Exodus Codex, Tchacos-Ferrini Math Codex, Tchacos-Ferrini Pauline Epistles Codex | 1 Comment