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Author Archives: Brent Nongbri
The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, the Length of kollēmata, and Dates of Codices
The upcoming auction of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex prompted me to revisit the edition of the codex and think a bit about the book’s construction. One datum that didn’t really register with me before I started making papyrus rolls is the … Continue reading
Posted in Bodmer Papyri, Codicology, Papyrus Making, Schøyen Collection, Tura Papyri, Voluminology
Tagged Book History, codex, Codicology, papyri, papyrology, papyrus, Papyrus rolls
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Hugo Ibscher and the Cover of the Berlin Akhmimic Proverbs Codex
In 2022, I published a short paper on the construction of the Beatty-Michigan codex of the Pauline epistles (P46, TM 61855). I suggested that the surviving page numbers in the codex might not be an entirely reliable guide to the … Continue reading
Posted in Berlin Coptic Proverbs Codex, Book binding, Book covers, Chester Beatty Papyri, Chester Beatty Pauline Epistles, Codices, Codicology, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Schøyen Collection
Tagged Book binding, Book History, bookbinding, Codices, history, papyri, papyrus, papyrus-codices, quires, single-quire-codices
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Moss, God’s Ghostwriters
Over the last few years, Candida Moss has published several very interesting articles on different aspects of slavery and early Christianity, such as: After reading these articles, I recognized that I was not going to be able to approach early … Continue reading
Posted in Book Trade in Antiquity
Tagged Bible, Jesus, New Testament, Roman literature, Roman slavery, scribes
7 Comments
The Upcoming Sale of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex (Just How Old is this Book?)
It has been an unusually busy news week for Coptic codices. I posted a few days ago about the Mudil Psalms codex, and then yesterday several news outlets reported that Christie’s will be auctioning off the Crosby-Schøyen codex, a papyrus … Continue reading
Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Codices, Codicology, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Maguid Sameda, Radiocarbon analysis, Schøyen Collection
Tagged antiquities, antiquities-trade, auctions, Codicology, coptic, history, manuscripts, papyrology, papyrus, rare-book-trade, rare-books
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The Mudil Psalter
News services in Egypt have announced that the Mudil Psalter is back on display after undergoing conservation treatment. This was a very well preserved Coptic codex that was excavated in 1984. It was found buried together with the body of … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeological context, Book binding, Mudil Psalter
Tagged Codicology, coptic, manuscripts, Mudil codex, Mudil Psalter
2 Comments
The Hobby Lobby v. Dirk Obbink Ruling
In 2023, the civil case of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Dirk D. Obbink switched venues from New York to Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma court has now found a default judgement in favor of Hobby Lobby, with the result that … Continue reading
Another Question About Those Possible Stands for Holding Open Papyrus Rolls
In a post back in 2021, I highlighted some interesting artifacts discussed in a 2001 article by Susan Wood. It’s a fascinating piece that focuses on two decorated ivory plaques with curious sets of holes found at Pompeii. The image … Continue reading
A Figurine of Venus Found in an Ancient Synagogue
The ancient synagogue in Rome’s port city of Ostia was uncovered by accident in the early 1960s during the construction of a highway between Rome and the newly built international airport in Fiumicino. The discovery of a Roman-era synagogue was … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeological context, Judaism, Ostia, Synagogues
Tagged ancient-judaism, archaeology, diaspora-judaism, history, Ostia, Ostia synagogue, Roman religion, Rome, Second temple Judaism, synagogue
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The Forma Urbis: A New Museum in Rome
A disclaimer: I’m fan of maps in general and of the Severan marble map of Rome in particular (I’ve mentioned it before on the blog). So it may be no surprise that I am very enthusiastic about the new museum … Continue reading
Posted in Inscriptions, Museums
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Variant Readings 