Tag Archives: papyrology

Taking Care of Papyrus Scrolls in Antiquity

The digital edition of a new book has recently become available: The volume is the result of a workshop back in 2022 in which I was fortunate enough to participate. It was a somewhat unusual seminar in the sense that … Continue reading

Posted in Book Trade in Antiquity, Voluminology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A New Article on Carl Schmidt and the Antiquities Trade

The coptologist Carl Schmidt (1868-1938) was very active in the antiquities trade. His name is associated with the purchase of many well known manuscripts, including one I’ve discussed here. An important new article on Schmidt has appeared in a journal … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Carl Schmidt, Hamburg Bilingual Papyrus, Maurice Nahman | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roberta Mazza’s Stolen Fragments

I’ve just finished reading Roberta Mazza’s excellent new book, Stolen Fragments: Black Markets, Bad Faith, and the Illicit Trade in Ancient Artefacts (Stanford: Redwood Press, 2024). This is a well organized and highly readable book. It tells a story–equal parts … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Bruce Ferrini, Dead Sea Scrolls, Dirk Obbink, Fakes and Forgeries, Green Collection, Lee Biondi, P.Sapph. Obbink, Scott Carroll | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Correction and a Codicological Mystery in P.Bodmer 13

I only recently learned of the death, about a year ago now, of Stuart G. Hall (1928-2023). It sent me back to an article that we wrote together. In 2015, I stumbled across grainy black and white photographs of what … Continue reading

Posted in Bodmer composite codex, Bodmer Papyri, Book binding, Codices, Codicology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stichometry 3: Counts for Galatians in Greek Manuscripts

In an earlier post, I set out the evidence used to establish that for ancient Greek and Latin prose writing, a stichos (or versus) was generally equal to 16 syllables. In a subsequent post, I drew attention to the discussion … Continue reading

Posted in Codex Sinaiticus, Stichometry | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Sale of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex and its Cost Over Time

The auction of several items from the collection of Martin Schøyen took place yesterday in London. The highlight of the sale was the so-called Crosby-Schøyen codex, which sold for just over the high end of the estimated price range at … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Schøyen Collection | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cover of Nag Hammadi Codex I for Sale (with a Bowl)

After being down for several days due to a cyber attack, the Christie’s website appears to be back up and running. A more detailed description of the items being auctioned from the Schøyen Collection is now available. Among them is … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Book covers, Find Stories | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

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 , , , , , , | 4 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 , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments