Rare 15th-Century Jewish Prayer Book With a Storied Past Sells for $6.4 Million

"It is extraordinarily moving to witness a manuscript of this magnitude continue its journey with such strength. The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor is not only a masterpiece of medieval illumination, but a document of faith, survival, and memory that has endured for more than six centuries. Seeing it resonate deeply with collectors today-and begin its next chapter after restitution-feels profoundly meaningful for everyone who has cared for its story."

"The sale follows the relic's recent return to the descendants of Alphonse von Rothschild, whose family held the prayer book until it was seized by the Nazis during World War II. Today, only three such artifacts are known to survive, all of them in private hands, according to the auction house. One prayer book, the Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor, sold for a record $8.3 million at Sotheby's in 2021."

"The mahzor is a Jewish prayer book that brings together liturgical texts, prayers, and ritual poems to mark High Holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Rothschild relic was assembled in 1415 by a Jewish scribe-artist named Moses. Its decoration-burnished gold panels, painted foliage, and vivid drawings of fantastical creatures-indicate the influence of the Lake Constance School, a tradition of medieval illumination that thrived in the 14th century near the lake where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet."

The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor, a 15th-century illuminated Hebrew prayer book assembled in 1415 by a scribe-artist named Moses, sold at Sotheby's on February 5 for $6.4 million. The volume had been part of the Rothschild family collection until it was seized by the Nazis during World War II and was recently returned to descendants of Alphonse von Rothschild before the sale. Only three comparable illustrated Hebrew mahzorim are known to survive, all in private hands, and one, the Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor, fetched $8.3 million in 2021. The manuscript's burnished gold panels, painted foliage, and fantastical creatures reflect the Lake Constance School and indicate communal liturgical use.

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