Lot 139, Auction 4/20/2026: Egyptian Coptic Letter Fragment in Sahidic Script

$1,560.00

In stock

Egypt, Coptic, ca. 6th to 9th century CE. A rare window into the daily concerns of Egypt’s Christian communities, this Coptic letter fragment preserves four lines of boldly inked Sahidic script, with a faint trace of a fifth at the top. Likely part of a longer personal letter, the text includes an epistolary expression near the end – a formula akin to “please” – which hints at the fragment’s interpersonal nature. The surviving lines reference a date early in the month of Paremhotep and mention a petition made “of God on behalf of” an individual named Mena. Another name, Phoibammon, appears at the beginning of the fourth line. These may be two male correspondents in a private exchange. Size of fragment: 4.6″ L x 1.3″ W (11.7 cm x 3.3 cm); of frame: 8.25″ L x 6″ W (21 cm x 15.2 cm)

Framed for preservation and display, this intimate scrap bridges personal devotion and the daily rhythms of Coptic Christian life in Byzantine or early Islamic Egypt. Its legible, confident hand and the character of the text suggest a literate layman or monk engaged in correspondence that blended the personal with the spiritual.

Condition: Mounted behind glass in a custom frame; has not been examined outside of glass. Fragment with some nicks, tears, chips, and losses as shown. Good remaining pigment and patina to paper. Suspension hook on verso of frame for display.

Provenance: private Boca Raton, Florida, USA collection acquired from Baidun Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel, acquired in April 2015; ex-private collection of Bruno Wertz, Germany, acquired in the 1960s

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