Judaica

S otheby’s Judaica Department offers an exceptional range of Hebrew manuscripts and books, silver Judaica, ritual objects, and fine art including paintings and works on paper. The department specializes in Hebrew books and manuscripts dating from the 15th to the early 19th century, as well as rare objects for personal and synagogue use, primarily crafted in silver. Sales also feature works produced at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, alongside fine art by leading 19th‑ and 20th‑century Jewish artists such as Isidor Kaufmann, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, Edouard Brandon, Maurycy Gottlieb, Solomon Alexander Hart, Marc Chagall and others.

Sotheby’s is the only international auction house to host an annual sale dedicated to Important Judaica. Our team of specialists in London, New York and Tel Aviv consistently achieves landmark results, including the $38 million sale of Codex Sassoon, the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible (ca. 900), which set a world record for any Judaica object.

The 2013 sale of the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection remains the most valuable Judaica auction ever held. Cultural institutions from around the world acquired masterpieces from the collection, including the Mishneh Torah, purchased jointly by the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. These historic results continue to affirm Sotheby’s leadership in the global market for Judaica and Hebrew manuscripts.