Ancient Manuscripts: Some Ethics Questions

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

1970_logo_wsIn an earlier post, I mentioned some of my concern about the tendency to orient provenance discussions in relation to the year 1970, the date of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Specifically, I described my own problems and hesitations in working with materials that were acquired before 1970. In that context, I commented, that “the 1970 date is a legal marker, not an ethical one.”

I’d like to expand a little bit on that point and offer an example. Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, British Library Aristotle, British Museum, E. A. Wallis Budge | 1 Comment

The Papyrus of Aristotle’s Constitution of the Athenians: Provenance Questions

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

I recently wanted to quickly refresh myself on what can be known about the provenance of the famous papyrus containing nearly the entire text of Aristotle’s Constitution of the Athenians (British Library Pap. 131, LDAB 391).

BL Pap 131 Aristotle whole

As usual, this turned out more complicated than I expected. The artifact itself is also somewhat complicated. Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, British Library Aristotle, E. A. Wallis Budge, Find Stories, Frederic Kenyon | 7 Comments

On the Dispersion of Libraries

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

I’ve had the break-up of libraries on my mind lately for several reasons. At one level, this phenomenon is never far from my thoughts. For years now, I’ve been working on the somewhat scrappy remains of what must have been many collections of ancient Christian books and wondered about how the books came together, and in the case of the Christian books at Oxyrhynchus, how they came to be tossed out as garbage. Continue reading →

Posted in Chester Beatty Papyri, Chester Beatty Pauline Epistles, Codices, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 10 Comments

The Green Collection 1 Samuel: A Place of Purchase

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Brent Nongbri
1 Samuel Green Collection Cartonnage

A papyrus “thingamajig” containing 1 Samuel obtained by Scott Carroll for the Green Collection; image source: Scott Carroll, Passages: The Experience. The 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible. Exhibition Guide (Marion, Indiana: Triangle Publishing, 2012), p. 4

The “Passages” speakers series videos continue to yield insights into the early formation of the Green Collection, and in particular this papyrus of 1 Samuel that I have mentioned before. The usual format of these “Passages” talks involves extended introductory and concluding remarks given by people associated with the Green Collection. When Scott Carroll was present (not off in Europe purchasing artifacts), he was generally involved in these aspects of the presentations. In his introductory remarks to a talk on C.S. Lewis by Charles Bressler given on 27 March 2012, Carroll described his upcoming travel plans with Jerry Pattengale. I have transcribed the relevant sections: Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Green Collection, Green Collection 1 Samuel, Mummy cartonnage, Passages Speakers Series, Scott Carroll | 5 Comments

The Green Collection Sappho Papyrus: Some New Details

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

I am in the process of working my way through videos of the lectures associated with the “Passages” travelling exhibition of Green Collection. At the prompting of David Bradnick who is also engaging in this pastime, I jumped ahead to “Season 2,” the group of lectures given in Atlanta in 2012. David mentioned that Scott Carroll had interesting things to say about some Christian manuscripts and also the Green Collection Sappho Papyrus. It is the latter that will be the topic of this post. Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink, Passages Speakers Series, Robinson Papyri, Scott Carroll | 16 Comments

A “Second Century” Papyrus of Matthew in the Green Collection

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In my last post, I mentioned I was watching a set of DVDs that documented the series of lectures that accompanied the “Passages” exhibition of the Green Collection. One of the Green Collection papyri that is mentioned in the lectures in these DVDs is perhaps the same papyrus that is mentioned as number 22 in a 2013 lecture by Scott Carroll:

Green Collection ListItem number 22 is described as “Gospel of Mt c. 140.” A papyrus with a somewhat similar description comes up during the “Passages” lectures in Oklahoma City in 2011. In his closing remarks after a talk by the British Library’s Scot McKendrick, Scott Carroll announced the discovery of a new manuscript: Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Green Collection, Passages Speakers Series, Scott Carroll | 13 Comments

More on the Curious Green Collection 1 Samuel Papyrus

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

I’ve written several posts (like this one) on different aspects of the “Passages” travelling exhibition of the Green Collection that took place between 2011 and the opening of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of the Bible in 2017. Some of the early Christian manuscripts associated with the “Passages” exhibition seem to have gone out of the public eye, as they have not gone on display in the Museum of the Bible. Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Green Collection, Green Collection 1 Samuel, Mummy cartonnage, Passages Speakers Series, Scott Carroll | 1 Comment

Ryan Kaufman on the Ending of John 20 in P.Bodmer 2

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In a paper recently posted to academia.edu, Ryan Kaufman engages with some of my hypotheses about the ending of the Gospel According to John in P.Bodmer 2. His suggestions are excellent and in fact offer a simpler explanation for some of the strange features of page 149 that I pointed out in my article (discussed on the blog here).

Kaufman’s key insight is that the text of page 149 as reconstructed by the original editors, Victor Martin and J.W.B. Barns, is unlikely to be correct. Continue reading →

Posted in Bodmer Papyri, Codices, Codicology, P.Bodmer II | 6 Comments

Big Discount on God’s Library at Amazon

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

If for some reason you haven’t picked up a copy of God’s Library yet, it is currently being sold at amazon (US) at a discount of over 50%–$15.84 USD. It also makes a great Christmas gift. I have no idea how amazon pricing works, so this deal might not be around for long.

Amazon God's Library Sale

Posted in Manuscript Collections | Leave a comment

Once More: An Oxyrhynchus Papyrus of Exodus and Revelation, Part 2

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In my previous post, I reviewed a recent article by Scott Charlesworth on British Library Pap. 2053, a papyrus from Oxyrhynchus with the ending of Exodus on one side (P.Oxy. 8.1075) and the opening verses of Revelation on its reverse (P.Oxy. 8.1079). In a 2013 article in Novum Testamentum, I had argued that this papyrus was probably a leaf from a codex rather than a portion of a roll, as was usually believed. Charlesworth’s claim that “all indications” point to this piece being a roll and not a codex was not persuasive.

POxy 8 1075 Detail

P.Oxy. 8.1075 (→ of British Library Pap. 2053); image source: The British Library

In the current (2019) issue of New Testament Studies, Peter Malik makes a case similar to that of Charlesworth, although Malik’s argumentation is more nuanced. Malik’s full article can be viewed here. Let’s have a look at his case. Continue reading →

Posted in Codices, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 4 Comments