Folio from a copy of Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa ghara'ib al-mawjudat (The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existence) by Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (d.1283); recto: Symbol of the Sun; verso: Diagram of the Eclipses of the Sun

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Object Details

Author

Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203-1283)

Label

The sun is the fourth sphere of the heavenly regions and is the king of planets. Al-Qazvini believed that the sun played a major role in rain cycles and was instrumental in the creation of the four winds. According to Al-Qazvini 36,000 years are required for the sun to pass through all of the signs of the zodiac.

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.

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

Wonders of Creation, Oddities of Existence: An Exhibition in Celebration of Halley's Comet (February 28, 1986 to October 27, 1986)

Near Eastern Ceramics (May 10, 1985 to September 3, 1985)

Near Eastern Ceramics (May 14, 1981 to May 10, 1985)

Collection of Friedrich and Maria Sarre (1932)

Previous custodian or owner

Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre (1865-1945)

Mme. Maria Sarre (1875-1971)

Credit Line

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Date

early 15th century

Accession Number

F1954.35

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Manuscript

Medium

Opaque watercolor, ink, gold and silver on paper

Dimensions

H x W (recto figure painting): 11.3 × 10.7 cm (4 7/16 × 4 3/16 in)

Origin

Iraq or Eastern Turkey

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

astronomy

sun

naskh script

Turkey

Iraq

eclipse

Wonders of Creation

Arts of the Islamic World

Metadata Usage