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An impressive church slavonic Old Believer
illuminated manuscript. Containing the
Apocalypse (The Revelation of St. John the Divine) with commentary by
the bishop Andrew of Caesarea, 237 sheets + 3 blank sheets.
Half Uncial Manuscript dated by the early 1812, distinct watermarks on
paper are dated by 1810. Thick paper. Watermarks from A. Gantscharov’s
papermill. Format: 33,5x21,0 cm.
The manuscript contains 72 fantastic(!) full page miniatures, 74
headpieces, 74 initials , 19 endings. 24 lines to the page, written in
black and red ink. Text and all miniatures framed in a yellow ordinary
border with ornamented angles on.
Contemporary blindstamped goatskin-covered (!) wooden boards, brass
closures, rich gold embossing. In a very good condition. A copy from
the A.A. Sivers’s private library.
The investigations show that the Apocalypse was written between 70 and
95 B.C. and possibly by more than one person. The patristic
interpretation for the Apocalypse belongs to Andrew, bishop of
Caesarea in Cappodicia (6th century). It was well known in the
Slavonic writings, the earliest of the Russian scrolls was that of
Novgorod from the 12th century. Illustrated scrolls of the Explanatory
Apocalypse became widely spread since the 16th century, and in the
17th - 19th it was one of the most popular, most copied and
illustrated works among the bookmen of the Old Believers with their
eternal interest in Eschatology. Although copies which were made on a
very high artistic and museum level are extremely hard to find. A
scrivener would normally spend up to 3 years to achieve that quality.
A wonderful example of a manuscript of the early 19th century! Rarity. |
