1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813752103321

Autore

Carboni Stefano

Titolo

The wonders of creation and the singularities of painting : a study of the Ilkhanid London Qazvīnī / / Stefano Carboni

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Edinburgh : , : Edinburgh University Press, , [2015]

©2015

ISBN

1-4744-6563-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xix, 428 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Edinburgh studies in Islamic art

Disciplina

709.5509022

Soggetti

Islamic illumination of books and manuscripts

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Ilkhanid

Illumination of books and manuscripts - Arab countries

Cosmography

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages 400-421) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Series Editor’s Foreword -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- Note to the Reader -- Introduction -- PART ONE -- CHAPTER ONE Al-Qazvīnī’s Illustrated Text between Scientific and Narrative Literature -- CHAPTER TWO The Illustrations of the London Qazvīnī: General Description -- CHAPTER THREE Selected Illustrations from the London Qazvīnī -- CHAPTER FOUR The London Qazvīnī in Relation to the Edinburgh al-Bīrūnī and the New York Bestiary -- CHAPTER FIVE The Illustrations of the London Qazvīnī and Related ’Aja'ib al-makhlūqāt Manuscripts -- PART TWO -- Description of the London Qazvīnī by Folio -- Catalogue of the Illustrations of the London Qazvīnī -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

A beautifully illustrated study of Al-Qazwini's 'Wonders of Creation' and the first-ever translations of the text into EnglishThe subject of this book is the so-called London Qazvīnī, an early 14th-century illustrated Arabic copy of al-Qazvīnī’s The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existing Things, which was acquired by the British Library in 1983 (Or. 14140). As is commonly the case for copies of this text, the London Qazvīnī is lavishly illustrated, with 368 extant paintings out of the estimated original ca. 520.Its large format, ambitious illustrative



cycle and the fine quality of many of the illustrations suggest that the atelier where it was produced must have been well-established and able to attract craftsmen from different parts of the Ilkhanid area. It also suggests that its patron was wealthy and curious about scientific, encyclopedic and 'ajā’ib literature, and keen to experiment with the illustration of new texts like this work, which had been composed by the author only two or three decades earlier. The only centre that was capable of gathering such artistic influences ranging from Anatolia to Mesopotamia appears to have been Mosul.The London Qazvīnī is an important newly surfaced document for the study of early illustrated Arabic copies of this text, representing the second earliest known surviving manuscript, as well as for the study of Ilkhanid painting. In a single and unique manuscript are gathered earlier Mesopotamian painting traditions, North Jaziran-Seljuq elements, Anatolian inspirations, the latest changes brought about after the advent of the Mongols, and a number of illustrations of extraordinary subjects which escape a proper classification.Key FeaturesOffers a stylistic analysis and discussion of the manuscript's miniatures Includes the first ever translations of sections of the 'Wonders of Creation' into English Beautifully illustrated with over 400 colour images