Lot 17: AN ILLUSTRATED SAUDI ARABIAN EQUINE MANUSCRIPT: KITAB AL-MANKHUL FI ILM AL-KHUYUL, AL-AHSA, DATED RAJAB 1290 AH (1873 AD)

AN ILLUSTRATED ARABIAN EQUINE MANUSCRIPT: KITAB AL-MANKHUL FI ILM AL-KHUYUL, AL-AHSA, DATED RAJAB 1290 AH (1873 AD), ATTRIBUTED TO ABU MUHAMMAD ABDALLAH IBN SADUN AND COPIED BY THE SCRIBE ABDULLAH BIN HUSSAIN BIN GHANIM AL-IHSAI.

This item is a bound Arabic manuscript titled Kitab al-Mankhul fi ilm al-khuyul (The Book of the Source on the Science of Horses), attributed on the title page to Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Sadun. The work is a quarto-format volume bound in dark brown leather. The covers feature a central recessed mandorla-shaped medallion in red leather, decorated with black interlace and floral motifs and gold-painted borders, with a simple gold-tooled double-line border. Internally, the manuscript consists of leaves of cream-colored paper featuring hand-written Naskh calligraphy in black ink. Headings and important terms are highlighted in red rubrication, and the text is enclosed within red and gold ruled frames. The manuscript includes several hand-painted miniatures depicting horses, riders, and men leading horses. A detailed anatomical diagram of a horse’s skeletal and muscular system is also present. The title page contains the transcribed text: Kitab al-Mankhul fi ilm al-khuyul / tasnif Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Sadun rahmat Allah ta ala, surrounded by small gold floral and dot motifs. copied by Abdullah bin hussain bin ghanim Alihsaaei, in the town of Al-Ahsa (Saudi Arabia, Second Saudi State), in month of Rajab, in year 1290 A.H.

9 pages

22.5 x 18cm