Folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); verso: Two men obtaining clay for medical use; recto: text

Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: text, one column, 13 lines; verso: illustration and text, Two men obtaining clay for medical use, one column, and 8 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Abdallah ibn al-Fadl
Author: Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 CE)
Historical period(s)
Abbasid period, 1224 (621 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 33.1 x 24.6 cm (13 1/16 x 9 11/16 in)
Geography
Iraq, Probably Baghdad
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1932.21
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Abbasid period (750 - 1258), De Materia Medica, Iraq, man, medicine, naskh script
Provenance

Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933) [1]

To 1932
H. Sevadjian, Paris to 1932 [2]

From 1932
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from H. Sevadjian, Paris in 1932 through K. Minassian [3]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Martin, F.R. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey, London, 1912; vol. I.

[2] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

[3] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

H. Sevadjian
Fredrik Robert Martin 1868-1933

Description

Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: text, one column, 13 lines; verso: illustration and text, Two men obtaining clay for medical use, one column, and 8 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

Published References
  • Pedanius Dioscorides, Robert T. Gunther. The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides: Illustrated by a Byzantine, A.D. 512. Oxford. .
  • Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel. Pedanii Dioscoridis Anazarbei, De materia medica libri quinque: Ad fidem codicum manuscriptorum. Medicorum graecorum opera quae exstant., vol. 25-26 2 vols., Leipzig, 1829-1830. vol. 1.
  • Max Meyerhof. Etudes de pharmacologie arabe tirees de manuscrits inedits: III. Deux manuscrits des simples d'Ahmed al-Galfiqi. vol. 23 Cairo, 1940-1941. p. 20, pl. 1.
  • Minta Collins. Medieval Herbals: The Illustrative Traditions. London and Toronto. p. 24, pl. 11.
  • H. Buchtal. Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdad. vol. 5 Baltimore. pp. 28-29, fig. 21.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 22, p. 57.
  • Dietrich Brandenburg. Islamic Miniature Painting in Medical Manuscripts., 2nd ed. Basel. p. 61.
  • Florence E. Day. Mesopotamian Manuscripts of Dioscorides. vol. 8, no. 9 New York, May 1950. p. 279.
  • Albert S. Lyons, R. Joseph Petrucelli II. Medicine: An Ilustrated History. New York. p. 305.
  • Ciba Symposia. vol. 6, nos. 5-6 Summit, New Jersey, August/September 1944. p. 1852.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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