Kitāb Gharāʼib al-funūn wa-mulaḥ al-ʻuyūn (كتاب غرائب الفنون وملح العيون) ('The Book of Curiosities')
Description
Incomplete late 12th or early 13th century copy, probably made in
Egypt, of an anonymous work compiled in Egypt between AD 1020 and
1050. Contains a number of unique illustrations and rare texts.
Erroneously attributed to ʻArabānī, ʻAbd al-Ghanī ibn Husām
al-Dīn, d. 1450.
Contents: Divided into two books, one on celestial matters, one on
the Earth.
Extent: ff. 48. Size of page: 324 x 245 mm. Size of written area:
291 x 226 mm.
Layout: 27 lines per page. Frame-ruled text area.
Hand: Medium-large Naskh script in dense black ink, with headings
in red.
Decoration: 23 maps and diagrams.
Binding: Disbound, binding retained. 18th or 19th century Ottoman
binding in poor condition.
Provenance: Bought from Sam Fogg, 2002.
