Sotheby’s in New York will auction off the oldest stone tablet of the Ten Commandments on December 18th. This ancient artifact, dating back to the Late Byzantine period approximately 1,500 years ago, is expected to fetch $1 million–$2 million. Ahead of the single lot sale, the tablet will be on display in New York starting December 5th.
The inscribed tablet, weighing 115 pounds and standing about two feet tall, is the only complete tablet of its kind from this era. It features 20 lines of Paleo-Hebrew script, comprising the Ten Commandments, which are central to the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The stone tablet was discovered in 1913 during railroad construction along the southern coast of Israel. Initially unrecognized for its importance, the tablet was used as a paving stone for three decades before its historical value was identified.
For those three decades, the stone faced upwards outside a local home and was exposed to foot traffic and natural weathering. Then, in 1943, a scholar purchased the stone after recognizing the text as a version of the Ten Commandments held sacred by the Samaritan community.
It is predicted that the original site of the tablet was likely a synagogue or private residence destroyed by either the Roman invasions of 400–600 CE or the Christian Crusades during the 11th century.
“This remarkable tablet is not only a vastly important historic artifact, but a tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilization,” said Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts. “To encounter this shared piece of cultural heritage is to journey through millennia and connect with cultures and faiths told through one of humanity’s earliest and most enduring moral codes.”
Last year, Sotheby’s hosted another high-profile Judaica sale, auctioning an ancient Hebrew Bible. The approximately 1,100-year-old manuscript fetched $38.1 million, making it the second most expensive manuscript ever auctioned. Known as the “Codex Sassoon,” the 26-pound book was sold to the American Friends of the ANU Museum of Jewish People in Tel Aviv. This September, Sotheby’s also sold a 700-year-old Hebrew Bible, referred to as the Shem Tova Bible, for $7 million.
By Maxwell Rabb / Courtesy ARTSY
