Catalogue: Natural History

‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt   (MS P 1)

(Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing)

كتاب عجائب المخلوقات وغرائب الموجودات

by Zakarīyā’ ibn Muḥammad al-Qazwīnī

زكرياء ابن محمد القزوينى

MS P 1, binding (upper cover)

The volume is bound in dark-brown leather over pasteboards. The cover has a central, large, gold-stamped, floriated S-shaped design enclosed by three concentric gold-tooled rectangular frames. The corners of the inner frame have gold-stamped finial decorations, and the corners of the middle frame are connected to those of the outer frame by lines of gold-stamped S-shaped feathers, which also form the middle frame. The outer frame is a composite of three geometric gold-tooled patterns.

MS P 1, fol. 30a

Two zodiacal constellations, Capricorn above and Aquarius below. From ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 30b

Three constellations: above, the zodiacal constellation of Pisces, in the middle, the southern constellation of Cetus shown here as a harpy wearing a crown, and, below, the constellation of Orion depicted as a man carrying a sword in is left hand and a shepherd's staff in his right. From ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fols. 71b-72a

A map of the inhabited world, from ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 152b

Two different types of trees, from ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 164a

A small bird perched in a tree, from ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 168b

Two types of palm trees, from ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 262a

Six animal-headed demons or jinns, from ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

MS P 1, fol. 311a

A simurgh - a monstrous mythical bird with the power of reasoning and speech. From ‘Ajā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). The copy was made in 1537/944, probably in western India. Neither the copyist nor illustrator is named.

Persian. 335 leaves (fols. 1b-7b, 8b-335b). Dimensions 23.7 x 15.4 (text area 18.7 x 9.6) cm; 19 lines per page. The title is given in the text (fol. 3a line 10), and the author's name is given on fol. 1b line 12.

The copy is dated 944 (= 1537-8) in the colophon (fol. 335b, line 10). Neither the copyist nor the illustrator is named.

It is a nearly complete and highly illustrated copy of a Persian translator, probably transcribed and illustrated in western India. The translator is not named. A break occurs in the text between fols. 127/128, 181/182, 238/239, and 249/250; several fols. are out of order, sequence should be: 102, 111, 103; 318, 322, 320, 323-334, 319, 321, 335.

The text is written in a rather casual ta‘liq script with a tendancy toward naskh, using black ink with headings in red and red overlinings. The text is written within frames of double red lines, with some rectangular areas framed in single red lines and extending into the margins. Fol. 102 was copied by a different hand, though the paper and inks remain constant. There are catchwords.

There are considerable marginalia in several hands, often providing corrections. A considerable amount of the marginalia has been cut off when the paper was trimmed for the last binding.

More than 150 illustrations, in opaque watercolors and ink, of constellations, mythical figures, and various plants and animals are found throughout the text. On several folios spaces for illustrations have been left blank.

The volume was at one time foliated from the back of the volume forwards as if it were a Western manuscript, using penciled Western numerals; these numerals have now been crossed out and the volume correctly foliated from the beginning of the text.

The thin, fragile, beige paper has indistinct vertical laid lines but no visible chain lines. The paper is quite worm-eaten and water-damaged, especially near the edges. Many folios have been repaired. Fol. 8 is an illustration pasted onto more recent paper; consequently fol. 8a is blank.

The volume consists of 335 leaves. Fol. 1a is blank except for a recent cataloguing note in pencil. Fol. 8a is blank.

The volume is bound in dark-brown leather over pasteboards. The covers have a central large, gold-stamped, floriated S-shaped design enclosed by three concentric gold-tooled rectangular frames. The corners of the inner frame have gold-stamped finial decorations, and the corners of the middle frame are connect to those of the outer frame by lines of gold-stamped S-shaped feathers, which also form the middle frame. The outer frame is a composite of three geometric gold-tooled patterns. The spine has three cords, and the areas either side of the cords are decorated with a repetition of the central S-shaped stamp on the cover; bands of gold-tooled small stylised S-shaped stamps decorated the areas over the cords and next to the cords. The edges has been repaired. There are relatively modern paper pastedowns and endpapers.

The volume was in the collection of the Army Medical Library in 1946. No further details of provenance are available.

Schullian/Sommer, Incun. & MSS., entry P 1, p. 330

NLM Microfilm Reel: FILM 48-130 no. 3

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