NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby's today unveiled highlights from Magnificent Judaica, a live auction in New York on December 17, 2026. Anchored by an exceptional group of medieval and Renaissance Hebrew manuscripts from a distinguished collection, the sale brings together works that illuminate the artistic, intellectual, and religious life of Jewish communities across Europe over the course of several centuries. Additional highlights include important examples of Judaica silver, among them works associated with the Rothschild family and one of the smallest known Torah scrolls in existence.

Additional property from the sale will be announced later this season.

Leading the sale is an illustrated mahzor created in Italy circa 1475 by Joel ben Simeon, one of the few named Jewish artists of the medieval period. Estimated at $3–5 million, the pages of the mahzor are richly embellished with hundreds of drawings that engage directly with the text of the prayers. The manuscript ranks among the most significant works by the celebrated scribe-artist remaining in private hands. The sale also features a fifteenth-century Italian Roman Rite Mahzor (est. $2–4 million), a monumental Hebrew Bible produced in Germany circa 1300 (est. $2–4 million), and an illuminated manuscript of Moses of Coucy's Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (est. $1–2 million). Together, these works trace the evolution of Hebrew manuscript production from medieval Ashkenaz to Renaissance Italy and offer a rare glimpse into the cultural exchanges, artistic achievement, and scholarly traditions that shaped Jewish life in Europe.

Highlights from the collection will be on view at the National Library Israel in November and Sotheby’s London December 4 - 9.

“These manuscripts stand among the most compelling survivals of the medieval and Renaissance Jewish world. They are works of devotion, scholarship, and artistic achievement in equal measure. From the imaginative illustrations of Joel ben Simeon to the monumental scale of the German Hebrew Bible and the opulent decoration of the Italian manuscripts, they demonstrate the extraordinary richness of Jewish book culture at moments of profound intellectual and artistic creativity” -- SHARON LIBERMAN MINTZ, SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SPECIALIST, JUDAICA





Masterpieces of the Hebrew Manuscript Tradition
Joel ben Simeon Mahzor, Italy, circa 1475
Ink on parchment
Estimate: $3 – 5 million

Leading the sale is an illustrated mahzor created in Italy circa 1475 by Joel ben Simeon, among the most celebrated Jewish scribe-artists of the medieval period. Born in Germany and active across northern Italy, Joel developed a highly distinctive visual language that transformed the Hebrew prayer book into a vehicle for artistic invention. Throughout the manuscript, hundreds of finely executed drawings animate the text, depicting ritual observances, biblical figures, animals, and fantastical hybrid creatures that engage directly with the prayers they accompany. Images of a worshipper sounding the shofar beside the relevant liturgical text, representations of Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law, and one of the earliest visual records of a Hanukkah menorah underscore the manuscript's unique fusion of image and devotion.

Among the relatively small number of medieval Jewish artists known by name, Joel ben Simeon occupies a singular place. His oeuvre comprises only twelve signed works and a limited number of additional manuscripts attributed to his hand. This mahzor is one of only four examples remaining in private hands, making it an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a work associated with one of the defining artistic personalities of the medieval Jewish world. More than a prayer book, it is a vivid record of Jewish life, ritual, and imagination in fifteenth-century Italy.

Roman Rite Mahzor, Ferrara, Italy, circa 1500
Ink, gouache and gold leaf on parchment
Estimate: $2 – 4 million

A second major highlight, the Roman Rite Mahzor offers a compelling testament to the close artistic interactions that characterized Renaissance Italy. Produced in the fifteenth century, the manuscript combines the work of a highly skilled Jewish scribe with decoration executed by Christian artists working within the visual language of contemporary Italian manuscript illumination. Brilliant pigments, extensive gold leaf, architectural motifs, floral ornament, and classical decorative forms transform the sacred Hebrew text into an object of extraordinary luxury.

The manuscript provides particularly vivid evidence of the cultural confidence and prosperity of Italian Jewish communities during the Renaissance. While remaining firmly rooted in Jewish religious tradition, it reflects the artistic vocabulary of the broader humanist world in which its patrons lived. Gold initial words enclosed within richly colored panels, delicate marginal decoration, and elaborate full-page borders reveal a careful dialogue between Jewish textual tradition and Christian manuscript painting. The result is a remarkable synthesis of Jewish learning and Renaissance visual culture, preserved in a manuscript whose richness rivals that of the finest luxury books produced for elite Christian patrons of the period.

Pentateuch with Five Megillot and Haftorot, Germany, Circa 1300
Ink on parchment
Estimate: $2 – 4 million

Among the earliest works in the sale is a monumental Pentateuch with Five Megillot and Haftorot, produced in Germany circa 1300. Distinguished by its immense scale, the manuscript stands as an extraordinary expression of the artistic and intellectual achievements of medieval Ashkenaz. Its imposing columns of Hebrew script are complemented by magnificent decorated initial words executed in the distinctive spare-ground technique, in which animals, human figures, and fantastical creatures emerge from areas of unpainted parchment against dark backgrounds.

Drawing upon the visual vocabulary of contemporary Gothic art while adapting it to the forms of the Hebrew alphabet, the manuscript reveals the extent to which Jewish artists participated in the broader artistic culture of medieval Europe while creating a visual language uniquely their own. Hunt scenes, hybrid creatures, and intricate zoomorphic forms animate the sacred text, creating a manuscript of exceptional visual power.





Monumental Hebrew Bibles of this scale are exceptionally rare, and only a handful are known today. Requiring hundreds of animal skins and enormous scribal labor to produce, such manuscripts served not only as repositories of sacred text but also as expressions of patronage, prestige, and communal identity. This example is believed to be the only manuscript of its type remaining in private hands.

Sefer Mitzvot Gadol by Moses of Coucy. Italy, late 15th century
Ink, gouache and gold leaf on parchment
Estimate: $1 – 2 million

Completing the group is an illuminated copy of Moses of Coucy's Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag), produced in Italy in the late fifteenth century. One of the most influential legal texts of the medieval Jewish world, the Semag organized and synthesized Jewish law through the framework of the 613 biblical commandments, shaping generations of rabbinic scholarship and study. Composed in thirteenth-century France, the work became one of the foundational texts of Jewish legal learning across Europe.

While numerous manuscript copies attest to its authority, relatively few surviving examples are distinguished by substantial decoration. The present manuscript belongs to that select group. Gold lettering set against richly painted grounds of blue, red, and green announces major textual divisions, while elaborate penwork flourishes and floral ornament articulate the structure of a complex legal text with remarkable visual clarity. The manuscript exemplifies the intersection of scholarship and artistry, reflecting both the intellectual importance of the work and the sophistication of the patrons who commissioned and preserved it.

Important Judaica Silver

Complementing the manuscript offerings is a distinguished selection of Judaica silver spanning several centuries of Jewish life in Europe.

Among the highlights is the Ehrenthal Family Miniature Torah Scroll and Torah Ark, created in Galicia in the early nineteenth century (est. $450,000–650,000). The Torah scroll, whose parchment measures just 2⅜ inches in height, may be the smallest recorded example of its kind. Accompanying the scroll is an elaborate gem-set silver-gilt and filigree Torah ark inscribed to Jacob ben Rabbi Meir Landau. The ensemble was acquired for a world-record price in London in 1978 and has since remained by descent within the family.

The sale also includes the Rothschild Flagon, a rare Frankfurt silver flagon by Carl Hessenberg dated 1776 (est. $300,000–500,000). Inscribed with the names of the leaders of Frankfurt's Jewish charitable institutions between 1776 and 1805/06, the vessel records both Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild dynasty, and his brother Moses Amschel Rothschild. The flagon later descended through the Rothschild family and has been exhibited by institutions including the Frankfurt Historical Museum, the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, and Rothschild Bank in London.

Further highlights include an important jeweled gold binding by Carlo Weingrill of Verona, executed circa 1900 and presented by the Romanian banker and philanthropist Jacques Elias to Rabbi Josef Ben Sinear (est. $100,000–200,000). Crafted in 18-karat gold and richly adorned with precious stones, the binding reflects the continued patronage of Jewish ceremonial and devotional arts into the modern era.