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Still life of various books including the Piscator Bern Bible of 1684 and a small piece of paper that reads Verbum Dei manet in aeter[num]
Auction Closed
May 20, 03:42 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Sold Without Reserve
Swiss School, 17th Century
Still life of various books including the Piscator Bern Bible of 1684 and a small piece of paper that reads Verbum Dei manet in aeter[num]
oil on canvas
canvas: 30 ¼ by 40 in.; 76.8 by 101.6 cm.
framed: 36 by 46 ¼ in.; 91.4 by 117.4 cm.
Over a century after Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, a continued interest in accessibility to religious texts persisted among the growing sects of Protestantism. The Piscator Bern Bible of 1684, prominently depicted in the present lot, was printed by the Canton of Bern out of a sort of defiance to the latest, modern translation produced out of Zurich. From Bern's perspective, they believed people should have access to different translations of holy scriptures. Around 6,000 copies were produced in the first edition and was documented as being last printed in 1848.
The small piece of paper that reads Verbum Dei manet in aeter[num] translates from Latin as The Word of the Lord Endures, which is the Lutheran motto, further situating the painting within a Swiss or German context.