The Christian Bible is the best-selling book of all time. It has been produced in numerous editions, from the book form popularized over 1600 years ago, to tape recordings, CDs and now on the Internet. However, few people know the fascinating history of the Bible. What were some of the first Bibles like? What materials were used to make them? In what language where they written?
"In the Beginning: Bibles Before the Year 1000" is a landmark exhibition presented in association with the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, which is the principal lending institution for this exhibition and is one of the greatest repositories for early manuscripts in the world. The Bodleian's curatorial staff has also contributed to the shape of the exhibition and the exhibition catalog.
The exhibition coincides with the 100th Anniversary of Charles Lang Freer's gift of Asian and American art to the people of the United States, now housed in the Freer Gallery of Art, and will include several pages and fragments from Freer's "Codex Washingtonensis," fourth and fifth-century Old Testament Greek manuscripts. Also on view will be a colorful painted cover of the "Washington Manuscript III—The Four Gospels," depicting figures of St. Matthew and St. John.
The exhibition will present over 70 of the earliest biblical artifacts in existence, including pages and fragments written in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian and Coptic—many on display for the first time in the United States. The Sackler Gallery will be the only venue for the exhibition.
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- Leaves from three of the six oldest surviving Hebrew codices.
- The oldest known manuscripts of the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy.
- One of the earliest known manuscripts of the Gospels written in Latin.
- The oldest dated parchment biblical codex in the world.
- A page from the earliest Bible with full-page illustration.
The roots of the Bible lie in the Middle East, but by the year 1000 it had reached Europe, transforming societies as it went and being shaped itself in turn. The story of that journey will be told through this exhibition, which will contain fragile fragments of papyrus, early parchment books, gorgeous illuminated manuscripts and sumptuous jewelled bindings—all precious survivors of the holocausts of history. Each one has a tale to tell, and opens up a landscape populated with colorful human stories.
"In The Beginning" presents the physical evidence of the Bible's evolution, assembled for the first time. It shows how the Bible mirrors successive ages and shapes societies by charting its initial fluidity, attempts to define its contents, and its dissemination through the use of local languages, scripts and ornament.
Visitors to the exhibition will begin to understand what motivated those who lovingly made such books, how Bibles were used in public worship and how the book was transformed from the simple manual of early Christian communities to a symbol of enduring faith.
An audio guide for this exhibition is available on site for $5 per person; a major credit card is required for rental. Michelle P. Brown, curator of the exhibition and professor of medieval manuscript studies at the University of London, illuminates the themes of the exhibition and reveals the stories behind many of the objects. A handheld PDA allows visitors to choose the order in which they look at the manuscripts and the length of time they spend with each aspect of the exhibition.
In the Beginning: Bibles before the Year 1000 has received the generous support of an anonymous benefactor; The Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries; Mr. and Mrs. Ladislaus von Hoffmann; Mr. Gifford Combs; Constance Corcoran Miller; The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel; The Italian Cultural Institute, Washington, D.C.; The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; the Hassan Family Foundation and H. Christopher Luce and Tina Liu. This exhibition is also supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
