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Artworks
Ximenez de Cisneros, Francisco [Bible]
Complutensian Polyglot Bible, in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, 1514-1517. Alcalá de Henares. Arnaldo Guillén de Brocar.The first great work of co-operative biblical scholarship to be printed, the first and most influential of all the Polyglot Bibles; Doheny copy
First edition of the first and most influential of all the great Polyglot Bibles of the Renaissance, the “first great work of co-operative biblical scholarship to be printed” (PMM), including the first printings of the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament -before that of Erasmus-, a monumental production, of extraordinary importance for the understanding of the Bible.
Further images
Six volumes bound in seven, folio (365 x 263 mm). Volume I: 299 unnumbered ff. (first blank removed by the binder) including 2 leaves of errata; volume II: 260 unnumbered ff. including 2 errata leaves; volume III: 202 unnumbered ff.; volume IV: 268 unnumbered ff. (including the 2 errata leaves); volume V: 222 unnumbered ff. (the additional 49 leaves were supplied at an early stage from a former copy from the British Library and form volume VII of the set); volume VI: 222 unnumbered ff. (without the 2 blanks: π1 after the title, and C4 of the Introductio artis grammatice hebraice); volume VII: 49 unnumbered ff. (last blanc removed by the binder). Seventeenth century calf, raised bands to spine forming compartments, two compartments with lettering pieces the rest heavily tooled, the seventh volume slightly different but in the same style (boards reattached), excellent condition, just slightly worn. Hebrew, Greek, and Roman types, titles printed in red and black, with woodcut arms of Cardinal Ximenes in woodcut border, woodcut initials in vol. 5, printer’s device. Scattered foxing, sometimes heavy as usual, some quires a little browned, contemporary marginal annotations to a few leaves, overall a very tall and fresh copy in excellent condition.
Distinguished provenance: Petri Ludovici Ruvialis (signatures on volumes I, II, III, IV and VI); Andrea Solex (early inscription on title of volume V); British Museum (stamp at end of volume VII); Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), son of King George III (book plate in each volume); Estelle Doheny (book plate in each volume), her sale Christie’s 14 December 2001, lot 155.
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