A rare, ornate, talismanic and mystical Hebrew Bible that was written by an illustrious rabbi in 14th century Spain, and whose gilded and colourful pages blend Jewish, Christian, and Islamic artistic traditions, is to go on public display after being bought at auction for $6.9m (£5.3m).
The Shem Tov Bible, which was completed by Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon in the northern Spanish city of Soria in 1312, has led a peripatetic and almost miraculous existence, surviving countless wars and upheavals on its travels to Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tripoli, London and Geneva over the course of seven centuries.
