Folio from a copy of the De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: Two physicians cutting a plant; verso: text

Detached folio from a copy of the De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: illustration and text, Two physicians cutting a plant (Euphorbia helioscopa), 6 lines; verso: text, 13 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 x 24.9 cm (13 x 9 13/16 in)
Geography
Iraq, Baghdad
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1938.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
Abbasid period (750 - 1258), botany, De Materia Medica, Iraq, medicine, naskh script, plant
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Detached folio from a copy of the De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: illustration and text, Two physicians cutting a plant (Euphorbia helioscopa), 6 lines; verso: text, 13 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

Published References
  • Benjamin Rowland, Laurence Sickman, H. G. Henderson, Robert Treat Paine, Richard Ettinghausen, Eric Schroeder. The University Prints. Oriental Art Series O 4 vols. Newton, Massachusetts, 1938-1941. Section 4: Iranian and Islamic Art, pl. 497.
  • Ciba Symposia. vol. 6, nos. 5-6 Summit, New Jersey, August/September 1944. front cover.
  • Laura Schnieder. Landscape in Islamic Art. vol. 7, no. 3, March 1967. p. 11.
  • Anna Pavord. The Naming of Names: The Search for Order in the World of Plants. New York. p. 12, pl. 4.
  • H. Buchtal. Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdad. vol. 5 Baltimore. pp. 16-39, fig. 8.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 20, p. 55.
  • Dietrich Brandenburg. Islamic Miniature Painting in Medical Manuscripts., 2nd ed. Basel. p. 59.
  • Valentine Everit Macy. The V. Everit Macy Collection. no. 432 New York, January 6-8, 1938. cat. 435, p. 98.
  • La medecine au temps des califes a l'ombre d'Avicenne: Exposition presentee du 18 novembre 1996 au 2 mars 1997. Exh. cat. Paris, November 18, 1996 - March 2, 1997. p. 98.
  • M.S. Dimand. Notes: A Loan of Near Eastern Miniature Paintings. vol. 22, no. 4 New York, April 1927. pp. 127-128.
  • Thomas Lawton, Thomas W. Lentz. Beyond the Legacy: Anniversary Acquisitions for the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. vol. 1 Washington, 1998. p. 185, fig. 1.
  • Jose Pijoan. Arte Islamico. vol. 12, Summa artis, historia general del arte, 1st ed. Madrid. p. 331, fig. 461.
  • Everard M. Upjohn, Paul S. Wingert, Jane G. Mahler. History of World Art. New York. p. 406, fig. 458.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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