19th century AD or earlier. A handwritten vellum book of eight quires, each of ten pages, sewn together at the spine; each page with drypoint rulings to guide the layout, two parallel columns of Ge'ez script in black ink with red ink detailing; title page with decorative interlaced panel at the head and acanth-leaf motifs between the columns; enclosed within a separate modern folding cover and slip case both with marbled paper to the outer face; believed to be an account of the early life of Mary Theotokos. 415 grams, 17.5 x 12cm (7 x 4 3/4"). Thorps Booksellers, Guildford, UK, c.1988. Ex central London gallery. [No Reserve]