Antique Ethiopian Coptic Christian manuscript handmade vellum Bible, written by 2 or more different writers/clerks. 

This is a very rare antique Ethiopian Coptic Christian handwritten Bible manuscript. 

Height: 163 mm = 16.3 cm; 

Width: 100 mm = 10 cm; 

Thickness: 32 mm = 3.2 cm; 

Weight: 276 g; 

Total number of pages: 169; 

2 blank pages at the beginning + 2 blank pages at the end. 

45 pages in blue ink, written in larger letters by first writer or clerk. 

Next 116 pages were written in smaller letters in black ink by second and possibly more writers or clerks. 

Page 45 has both calligraphies, which is possible to compare on one page. 

Each page contains 15 lines; 

Each line contains 13-15 letters; 

The words or the sentences were separated by colon (:) 

The first page has a drawing which looks like a snake skin. 

itle is written in red ink. 

The name of the God (?) is written in 3 red letters ሠለሰ or አከተ 

Two wooden covers. 

The pages are made of goat skin called vellum that has an amazing parchment like texture. 

The smell and touch of the book are very pleasant. 

The writing is in black and red paint or ink (red usually being reserved for the names of God, Saints and the Holy Family) made from plant juices and is in Ethiopic (Ge'ez) a language no longer used today, except by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for religious purposes. Ge'ez, which is the country's earliest language and which has been referred to as the 'Latin of Ethiopia' and is used today only in the liturgy of the Ethiopian Church. 

Please see 'Ethiopian Magic Scrolls' by Jacques Mercier and 'The coinage of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somalia' by Dennis Gill for more information. 

Provenance: private collection in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. 

Originally bought by American citizen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1979. It was roughly 4x6x1.5 inches.