Morganmobile: Beginnings

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This ancient book, the oldest intact manuscript at the Morgan, marks a beginning in several ways. Its full-page depiction of an interlace Ankh, an Egyptian symbol of life, is one of the earliest Coptic miniatures, auguring a vibrant tradition of painting associated with the Christian populations of Egypt. In format, the manuscript reflects the shift in late-antique book production away from scrolls toward the codex, in which gatherings of leaves are sewn together and bound between covers—a format still familiar to modern-day readers. Finally, the text is among the earliest substantial witnesses to the biblical book of Acts, which provides an account of the spread of Christianity immediately following Christ’s Ascension.

Acts of the Apostles, in Coptic. Egypt, late 5th century. MS G.67, fols. 214v-215.Gift of the Trustees of the William S. Glazier Collection in 1984.