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

Object Details

• 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.

• Provenance

  To 1930

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York to 1930 [1]

  From 1930

  Freer 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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Kevorkian, Hagop

• Topic

  Aries (Astrology), Capricorn, Art, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Zodiac, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Virgo, Taurus, Aquarius, Diseases, Libra, Fishes, Automata, Leo, Arts of the Islamic World, Gemini

• Culture

  Muslims, Syrians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts