"Take fifteen for yourself"

[Coptic papyrus]. Two papyrus letter fragments.

€ 35,000.00

Two papyrus letter fragments inscribed in a fine Sahidic Coptic uncial book hand.

Fragment 1 appears to be relevant to the study of bishops in the Theban region in 600-630 CE. Although the name of the sender is lost, is is addressed to a spiritual (pneumatikon) authority, using the “you” in plural form, indicating a person with extraordinary personal authority, possibly (as Dekker argues) the Bishop Pesynthius of Koptos (599-632), who is still remembered as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Fragment 2 mentions a monastic authority, the holy “archimandrite”, who headed a large monastic community at the festival temple of Thutmose III in Karnak, and who appears in four Coptic letters, each time without a name. It is unclear whether the letters refer to one or several individuals. Since all four texts date to the same period - the early seventh century - it is reasonable to presume one individual is meant. He was a contemporary of Bishop Pesynthius and is mentioned in a letter addressed to Psan "the anchorite" from the 620s.

Full transcription and translation available upon request.