Folio from Kitab fi ma'arifat al-hiyal al-handisaya (The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices) Automata by al-Jazari (d. 1206); recto: text, Water-powered clocks; verso: The face of a water clock with Zodiac signs

Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
December 1315 (Ramadan 715 A.H.) -
Geography
Probably Syria -
Material
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper -
Dimension
H x W: 31.5 x 21.9 cm (12 3/8 x 8 5/8 in) -
Accession Number
F1930.74 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1930.74
Object Details
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Calligrapher
Farruq ibn Abd al-Latif -
Description
Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Kitab fi ma'arifat al-hiyal al-handisaya (The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices), "Automata," by al-Jazari; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: text, Water-powered clocks, one column, 12 lines; verso: illustration and text, The face of a water clock with zodiac signs, one column, 6 lines; one of a group of 8 folios. -
Label
The so-called Automata of al-Jazari, which describes the construction of fifty mechanical devices, was frequently illustrated in Syria and Egypt during the fourteenth century. This painting comes from a section of the Automata text devoted to water powered clocks. The green disk is part of a clock constructed in the form of a palace facade. As described in the text and accurately depicted here, the disk consists of a revolving outer rim adorned with the twelve signs of the zodiac and two inner zones with gold roundels for the sun and moon. -
Provenance
To 1930Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1930 [1]From 1930Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York in 1930 [2]Notes:[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.[2] See note 1. -
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection -
Exhibition History
Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)Art of the Arab World (May 8, 1975 to August 20, 1977)Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Metalwork (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)Untitled Exhibition, Persian Manuscripts (May 5, 1933 to September 22, 1947)Untitled Exhibition, Persian Art (March 14, 1931 to May 5, 1933) -
Previous custodian or owner
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) -
Origin
Probably Syria -
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment -
Type
Manuscript -
Restrictions and Rights
Usage Conditions Apply
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