Three exhibit curators will explore the background of the manuscripts presented in the current exhibit “Sacred Hands,” in a talk at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery.
Discussing the texts in the presentation “Sacred Hands, a multimedia talk,” will be Pablo Alvarez, outreach librarian and curator for the Special Collections Library; Evyn Kropf, Islamic manuscripts project cataloguer, U-M Library; and Arthur Verhoogt, acting archivist, Papyrus Collection.
The exhibit features manuscripts with texts of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The curators say the term “sacred” is appropriate to describe the hands that wrote the manuscripts. They add that the meaning of this word travels beyond the traditional limits of the religious sphere, as sacred can designate whatever is unique, exclusive and venerable.
“This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the transmission and appreciation of these texts through their respective scribal traditions,” Alvarez says. The manuscripts reveal how a text was transmitted in a particular language and at a particular time, and also how texts were presented to readers.
Curators say visitors to this exhibit will appreciate the beauty and the history behind the artifacts, as even the early bare fragments written on papyrus or animal skin reveal the subtle elegance of the scribe. All of the materials displayed in the exhibit are from the U-M Library’s Special Collections Library and the Papyrus Collection Library.
It is on display in the Hatcher Library’s Audubon Room from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, and 1-7 p.m. Sundays through March 4.
