An auctioneer of Christie's conducts a sales session in Hong Kong
An auctioneer of Christie's conducts a sales session in Hong Kong Reuters/Bobby Yip

The Rothschild Prayerbook has attracted a lot of attention after it was sold for a whopping $15.5 million at a Christie's auction in New York in January 2014.

It was then when Australian businessman Kerry Stokes revealed himself as the previously anonymous buyer of the special book. Here are some reasons why the collection sold at such a high price and is widely considered by scholars as very important.

1. It is an illuminated manuscript

The book is also called the Rothschild Hours because it is a book of hours, created by legendary artists. The book contains 254 folios built by renowned miniaturists, such as the Master of the First Prayerbook of Maximilian, the Master of James IV of Scotland, Gerard David and Simon Bening.

2. It features a great collection

The Rothschild Prayerbook has a total of 140 pages, each measuring 228 x 160 mm. There are 67 large miniatures in the manuscript. Illuminated manuscripts feature colourful miniature art pieces with decorative borders.

3. It is ancient

The book was said to be created by the several artists from 1500 to 1520. It was deemed a Renaissance masterpiece and was usually kept out of public sight in the last 500 years.

4. It has World War II history

The original owner of the book of hours is unknown, but it was confiscated from Louis Nathaniel von Rothschild after Germany annexed Austria in 1938. Rothschild was forced to donate valuable art pieces, including the prayerbook, to Austrian museums after World War II. In 1999, the book was returned to the Rothschild family.

5. It was housed in a museum

Before moving into Stokes' private gallery in Perth, Australia, the Rothschild manuscript was kept at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. After being returned to the Rothschild family, the book was auctioned in 1999 at Christie's for $13,400,000. It was auctioned again on January 29, 2014, where Stokes was later on revealed to be the mystery buyer.

Stokes shared that he intended to show the book to the public. He said that it was the most important piece in his entire collection. He wanted it to be a "destination piece" so that people who plan to visit Australia can include viewing the masterpiece in their itinerary.