The Khabouris Codex comes to the New QCC Art Gallery

The Khabouris Codex is a nearly 1,000 year old New Testament. Written in the ancient Aramaic script of Estrangela, it is comprised of the twenty-two books of the Eastern Orthodox Canon, which excludes the Book of Revelations and four short Epistles (II Peter, II and III John, and Jude). Carbon dating indicates this masterful work to have been created between 1040 and 1090 AD. According to what is legible from the colophon page, the Khabouris is a hand-scribed duplicate of an Aramaic New Testament which may have been written as early as the second century. Signifying it to be a true copy of the original text, the colophon bears the seal and signature of the Bishop of the Church at Nineveh (present-day Mosul, Iraq). Additional forensic analysis and research of the colophon will help determine the Khabouris’ provenance.

Measuring approximately 7.5” x 10” x 5”, the codex consists of 255 lamb parchment leaves (three leaves are missing) bound between two olive wood covers. It is unlikely that the covers or the bindings are original. On both sides of each leaf is text written with Iron Gall ink (click here for more information on Iron Gall Ink) - on some, there is text and markings in a red ink. Throughout the codex are diacritical marks written in a darker, likely carbon-based, ink. Old manuscripts are rarely without deterioration from exposure through the passage of time. The Khabouris is no exception with damage from water, mud, fungus, and physical abrasion. Iron gall ink, over time, changes color from black to brown due to reactions with environmental chemicals and air. The aged brown color of the ink makes it easy to distinguish from the blacker carbon ink vowel marks, edits, and margin notes found throughout the text.

Archival preservation of this rare and extraordinary work has been accomplished with painstaking attention to detail and careful handling. During the summer of 2004, every surviving leaf of the codex was digitally photographed by Eric E. Rivera, Executive Director of The Khabouris Institute, with the cooperative efforts of Better Light, North Light Products, Robin Myers Imaging, and Reindeer Graphics. High-resolution digital photography, using the Better Light Super 8K and 6K Scanning Cameras, has produced a macro digital archive far surpassing what is visible to the naked eye.

Forensic image analysis, using high-resolution photography, will help determine what is the original text, what “additions” may have been made to the original writings, as well as uncover and restore parts of the text that have suffered damage over the centuries.

The unprecedented levels of detail, sharpness and color definition of the images of the codex, allow each character to be examined at a virtual microscopic level for minute differentials in color, weight, bleed and graphic intonation without further handling of the codex. This digital photographic archive of the codex will guarantee that the precious content of this codex will last another thousand years.

The Khabouris codex will be on exhibit for public viewing as of mid January 2005 at The Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, in Bayside, New York.

Adding dynamic energy to the showcase of this codex will be one of four surrounding paintings by Marlene Tseng Yu. Her paintings, representing the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) will be rotated on a quarterly basis, beginning with “Air”.