Islamic Art and Fine Objects
Lot 149:
Description
A CENTRAL ASIAN ILLUSTRATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF FROM THE KITAB SUWAR AL-KAWAKIB AL-THABITA, 15TH-16TH CENTURY
This Central Asian illustrated manuscript leaf, dating from the 15th to 16th century, is from a version of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi’s Kitab suwar al-kawakib al-thabita (Book of Fixed Stars). The work is executed in ink and opaque pigments with gold-toned accents on paper. The illustrations depict the constellation Lepus (the Hare) in two distinct orientations, with circular markers indicating the positions of the stars. Accompanying Arabic calligraphy in red and black ink identifies the upper illustration as the constellation as it appears on a celestial globe (surat al-arnab ‘ala ma yura fi al-kura) and the lower illustration as it appears in the sky (surat al-arnab ‘ala ma yura fi al-sama’). The leaf is mounted within a ruled black and gold border on a secondary cream-colored paper support.
19 x 10cm
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