The Coptic Papyrus Codices Preserved in the Museo Egizio, Turin: New Historical Acquisitions, Analysis of Codicological Features, and Strategies for a Better Understanding and Valorization of the Library from Thi(ni)s

This article aims at describing the first results of accurate autoptic codicological analyses conducted on the papyrus codices preserved in the Museo Egizio, Turin, within the other scientific activities and goals of the ‘PAThs’ project (Rome). The Turin codices represent a rare example of a well-preserved late antique institutional library that reflects the literary tastes and dogmatic orientations before what can be defined as the ninth-century Coptic book revolution, which significantly changed bookmaking in Christian Egypt. The definitive shift from papyrus to parchment as a writing support was a technical innovation that directly affected the number of works transmitted by a single manuscript and sometimes even its contents. In this respect, the Turin codices – probably datable between the end of the seventh centuury and the beginning of the eighth – are the latest known example of an Egyptian library entirely transmitted by papyrus codices, and offers a rare occasion to study the criteria by which several literary works were assembled in one codex. Moreover, the edition of two unpublished leaves of Codex IX, preserved in the National Library of Turin, is provided.