Folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: Physician and an ill man; verso: text

Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black naskh script, headings in red; recto: illustration and text, Physician and an ill man, one column, nine lines of text; verso: text, one column, thirteen lines; one of a group of nine folios.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Abdallah ibn al-Fadl
Historical period(s)
Abbasid period, 1224 (621 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 33 x 25.6 cm (13 x 10 1/16 in)
Geography
Iraq, Baghdad
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.98
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Abbasid period (750 - 1258), De Materia Medica, Henri Vever collection, Iraq, medicine
Provenance

Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933). [1]

Tabbagh Frères, Paris, France. [2]

Arthur Sambon (1867-1947), Paris, France. [3]

To 1912
Georges Demotte (1877-1923), Paris, France. [4]

From 1912 to 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Georges Demotte, Paris, France on November 30, 1912. [5]

From 1942 to 1986
Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France. [6]

From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France. [7]

Notes:

[1] See Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 7: Chart of Recent Provenance" in An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, Glenn D. Lowry et al (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 401.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

[4] See Glen D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 2: Ledger of Acquisitions, 1894 and 1907-17" in A Jeweler’s Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 232.

[5] See note 4.

[6] See the Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection of January 9, 1986, Collections Management Office.

[7] See note 6.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Tabbagh Frères
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Arthur Sambon 1867-1947
Fredrik Robert Martin 1868-1933
Georges Demotte 1877-1923
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black naskh script, headings in red; recto: illustration and text, Physician and an ill man, one column, nine lines of text; verso: text, one column, thirteen lines; one of a group of nine folios.

Published References
  • Fredrik Robert Martin. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century. 2 vols., London. vol. 2: pl. 6.
  • Thomas W. Lentz. Pictures for the Islamic Book: Persian and Indian Painting in the Vever Collection. vol. 1, no. 4 New York, Fall 1988. pp. 13-4, 28, fig. 2.
  • H. Buchtal. Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdad. vol. 5 Baltimore. no. 24, pp. 27-28, 30, fig. 26.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 65, p. 55, 57.
  • 1001 Cures, Contributions in Medicine & Healthcare from Muslim Civilisation. Manchester, United Kingdom. p. 59.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 5, pp. 72-73.
  • Romance and Reason: Islamic Transformations of the Classical Past. Exh. cat. New York. p. 73, fig. 4-8.
  • Henry Corbin, Paul Pelliot, Eustache de Lorey. Les Arts de l'Iran, l'ancienne Perse, et Bagdad. Paris. cat. 10.2, p. 129.
  • L'Age d'or des sciences arabes: Exposition présentée a l'Institut du monde arabe, Paris, 25 octobre 2005-19 mars 2006. Exh. cat. Arles and Paris. cat. 89, p. 165.
  • Ernst Grube. Materialien zum Dioskurides Arabicus. p. 177.
  • Ciba Symposia. vol. 6, nos. 5-6 Summit, New Jersey, August/September 1944. p. 1851.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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