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Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Qazwini.
'Ali Asghar ibn Mirza Muhammad & 'Ali Ashtiyani
Aja'il al-Makhluqat (On the Wonders of Creation).
Persian manuscript on paper. This book contains a wealth of illustrations displaying the extensive nature of the text itself. Brockelmann describes the work as the most precious cosmographical text in the Islamic culture, while Ettinghausen elaborates further and says that al-Qazwini "succinctly and yet systematically treated every natural phenomenon known in the High Middle Ages.".
- Published
- Persia, 1848.
- Plates
- 320
- Binding/Size
- M=4to
- Value
- 25001-100000
- Published
- Persia, 1848.
- Ref
- 1651
233 leaves, plus 2 fly leaves, 20 lines to a page written in nasta'liq in black ink, ruled in gold, green, red, and blue. 320 illustrations in gouache and ink throughout the text, in lacquer binding with floral cartouches. Plain dark brown leather spine. This example was copied by 'Ali Asghar ibn Mirza Muhammad in Persia 4 JUmada II 1264 AH / 8th May 1848 AD. Abu Yahya Zakariya ibm Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Qazwini (1203-1282) was a physician who was born in Qazwin and travelled extensively in Mesopotamia and the Levant. He dedicated his cosmography entitled "'Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al Maujudat" to 'Ata-Malik Juwayni (d.1283), a Persian historian who was appointed governor of Baghdad by the Mogol ruler Hulagu after its sacking in 1258. The book is in excellent overall condition, the only blemishes being general ink smudges, spotting, some staining, paper thinning etc. There are some annotations to the margins. Some of the subjects covered by the illustrations are: 1. Giants. 2. Animals (Buffalos, Horses, Cows, Camels, Squirrels, Rabbits, Ass, Donkeys, Goats, Deer, Porcupines, Dog...) 3. Wild Animals (Elephants, Leopards, Lions, Wolves, Rhinoceros, Giraffe, Bears, Wild Boars, Tigers...) 3. Insects (Crickets, Scorpions, Centipedes, Beetles...) 4. Reptiles (Snakes, Crocodiles, Lizards, Tortoise, Frog...) 5. Birds (Parrots, Game Birds, Ostrich, Water Birds, Rooster, Storks, Peacocks...) 6. Mythological Creatures (Dragons, Half Humans / Half Animals, Pegasus, Fish, Cephalopods, Half Human / Half Bird, Giant Eagles, Winged Animals, Humans with their Heads on their Chests...) 7. Trades (Spinning, Farming, Machinery...) 8. Flowers / Plants / Grape Vines / Bushes (Roses, Cacti...) 9. Trees (Date Trees, Coconut, Palm Trees, Fruit Trees, Ferns, Willow...) 10. Scenery. 11. Violence, Murder 12. Persian Rulers / Royal Courts 13. Crustaceans 14. Ships / Boats. 15. Mythology / Mythological Scenes. 16. Intrigue. 17. Prayers / Scriptures / Teaching. 18. Angels. 19. The Heavens / Astrology / Zodiac Signs. 20. Religious Figures / Wise Men. 21. Lust / Nudity. 22. Peoples. 23. Soldiers. 24. Culture. 25. Mythological Sea Creatures.
