Metadata: Collection of Manuscripts in Eastern Languages
Collection
- Country:
- Latvia
- Holding institution:
- National Library of Latvia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Latvijas Nacionālā Bibliotēka
- Postal address:
- Mūkusalas iela 3, Rīga, 1423, Latvia
- Phone number:
- +371 6780 6100
- Web address:
- www.lnb.lv
- Email:
- lnb@lnb.lv
- Reference number:
- RXA222S
- Title:
- Collection of Manuscripts in Eastern Languages
- Title (official language):
- Austrumtautu rokrakstu kolekcija
- Creator/accumulator:
- National Library of Latvia
- Date(s):
- 1700/1960
- Date note:
- Early 18th century - mid 20th century
- Language:
- Sinhala; Sinhalese
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Hebrew
- Latvian
- Latin
- Tibetan
- Mongolian
- Extent:
- 29 items
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- The Collection of Manuscripts in Eastern Languages includes personal documents and manuscripts. There are ancient documents in Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian, Arabic and Sinhala, as well as twelve manuscripts in Hebrew. Of these, nine manuscripts are Torah scrolls in Biblical Hebrew. One of the scrolls is 3.75 meters in size, the others are smaller. Some scrolls were preserved only as manuscripts on parchment, without wooden rollers and a case, for example, item #26 – Megillat Esther (Book of Esther). The other scroll of Megillat Esther (item #11) is stored in a brass case. Another scroll (item #14) is preserved with wooden rollers. Along with this are stored a fragment of the handle, decorated with ivory, and a disc from the handle. In addition to these scrolls, the collection contains three books: the handwritten Hebrew-Latin dictionary of Old Testament texts; the manuscript book “Der Bandit der Sierra Newada” by the French writer Alexander Dumas, translated into Hebrew by Avigdor Idelson; and the Hebrew commentary on part of the Old Testament.
- Archival history:
-
The Rare Book and Manuscript collection of the National Library of Latvia includes all printed matter (books, ephemera, periodicals, maps, picture books) published in Latvian until 1850, in Russian until 1800, in other languages until 1700, and rare and restricted works printed after those years (banned and repressed publications, first editions of classic works, luxury editions and imprints of polygraphic interest, items with notes by authors or distinguished persons, etc.). The manuscript collection is a compilation of handwritten texts of cultural and historical significance: manuscripts, letters, photographs and other items from personal archives. The manuscript collection currently holds more than 400 personal archives and collections – published and unpublished essays, manuscripts of literary works, letters, photographs, etc.
The origin and date of the Torah scrolls in the collection of the Latvian National Library are unknown. The ex-libris of Klav Silin is attached to one of the scrolls of Megillat Esther, with the detail that he presented this scroll to A Friedland in 1974. The book with Hebrew commentary on part of the Old Testament was created in the second half of the 19th century. The handwritten Hebrew-Latin dictionary for Old Testament texts was donated to the Riga Lyceum in 1771 by M G A Loder (1739-1806), a German-Baltic pastor.
- Access points: locations:
- Latvia
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Jana Makarova, Riga
