Folio from Aja’ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) by al-Qazvini; recto: Archangel Gabriel (Jabril); verso: Archangel Michael (Mikayyil)

Maker(s)
Author: Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (d. 1283)
Historical period(s)
early 15th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 32.7 x 22.4 cm (12 7/8 x 8 13/16 in)
Geography
Iraq or Eastern Turkey
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1954.52
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
archangel, Iraq, naskh script, Turkey, Wonders of Creation
Provenance

To 1945
Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre (1865-1945). [1]

To 1954
Mme. Maria Sarre, Ascona, Switzerland. [2]

From 1954
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dr. Paul Kempner, New York on behalf of Mme. Maria Sarre, Ascona, Switzerland. [3]

Notes:

[1] Object file F1954.33-114, undated folder sheet note 2. “The manuscript was originally acquired by Prof. Friedrich Sarre in Algiers”.

[2] Object file F1954.33-114, undated folder sheet note 1. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

[3] See note 2. See also invoice dated July 22, 1954 and correspondences between Dr. Paul Kempner and the Freer Gallery, dated July 21, 1954; copies in object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre 1865-1945
Mme. Maria Sarre 1875-1971

Label

Al-Qazwini's Wonders of Creation is an encyclopedic work on the cosmology and geography of the world. The text was composed in thirteenth-century Iraq, and is divided into two main sections that discuss heavenly and earthly bodies. The page on view is from one of the earliest surviving illustrated versions and depicts the archangel Michael, known as Mikael in Arabic. According to al-Qazwini, the angel stands on the overflowing sea of the seventh heaven and is in charge of humans and the presence of wisdom and knowledge in souls. His attendants rule over the entire world and have power over resurrection and generation.

The representation of the archangel, dressed according to fourteenth-century norms, also implies a certain humility and gentleness, thus adding to our understanding of this powerful, heavenly creature.


Published References
  • Barbara Schmitz. Islamic Manuscripts in the New York Public Library. New York. .
  • Ferdinand Wustenfeld. Zakarija ben Muhammed ben Mahmud el-Cazwini's Kosmographie. 2 vols., Gottingen, 1848-1849. .
  • Julie Badiee. An Islamic Cosmography: The Illustrations of the Sarre Qazwini. Ann Arbor. .
  • Ernst Kuhnel. Islamische Kleinkunst: ein Handbuch fur Sammler and Liebhaber. Bibliothek fur Kunst, 2nd ed. Braunschweig, Germany. .
  • Richard Ettinghausen. Arab Painting. Treasures of Asia Geneva. .
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Grace Dunham Guest. The Iconography of a Kashan Luster Plate. vol. 4 Washington and Ann Arbor. .
  • Ernst Diez. Die Kunst der Islamischen Volker. Handbuch der Kunstwissenschaft Berlin. .
  • Emile Dermenghem. Mahomet et la Tradition Islamique. Bourges, France. .
  • Richard Ettinghausen. Studies in Muslim Iconography I: The Unicorn. vol. 1, no. 3 Washington. .
  • Fritz Saxl. Beitrage zu einer Geschichte der Planeten darstellung im Orient und Okzident. vol. 3 Berlin. .
  • F. Taeschner. Die Psychologie des Kazwini. Kiel. .
  • Encyclopedia of Islam., new ed. Leiden. vol. 2.
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. .
  • Ivan Stchoukine. Les Peintures des Manuscrits Timurides. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique Paris. .
  • Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art. Exh. cat. London. .
  • Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre, Mme. Maria Sarre. Katalog der Austellung im Stadelschen Kunstinstitut. Frankfurt am Main. .
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. .
  • Sir Thomas W. Arnold. Painting in Islam: A Study of the Place of Pictoral Art in Muslim Culture. Oxford. .
  • Philipp Walter Schulz. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei: Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte Irans. 2 vols, Leipzig. .
  • Ernst Kuhnel. Miniaturmalerei im Islamischen Orient. Die Kunst des Ostens Berlin. .
  • Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre, Fredrik Robert Martin. Die Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedanischer Kunst in Muchen, 1910. 3 vols., Munich. .
  • Fredrik Robert Martin. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century. 2 vols., London. vol. 1.
  • Gabrielle Mandel. Arabic Script: Style, Varients, and Calligraphic Adaptations., 1st ed. New York and London. cover.
  • Classiques Arabes. 7 vols., Beirut. vol. 7: p. 2.
  • Julie Badiee. The Sarre Qazwini: An Early Aq Qoyunlu Manuscript? vol. 14 Washington and Ann Arbor. pp. 100, 111, fig. 21.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 63, p. 124.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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