Folio from a copy of the De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: Two physicians cutting a plant; verso: text

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Abdallah ibn al-Fadl

• Author

  Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 CE)

• Description

  Detached folio from a copy of the De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: illustration and text, Two physicians cutting a plant (Euphorbia helioscopa), 6 lines; verso: text, 13 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

• Marks

  Verso lower left has "M34" penciled on it.

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Aya Sofya Library, Istanbul [1]

  Likely by at least 1908-no later than 1927

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933), method of acquisition unknown [2]

  Possibly by 1927-1930

  V. Everit Macy (1871-1930), probably purchased from Dikran Kelekian [3]

  1930-1938

  Estate of the Late V. Everit Macy [4]

  1938

  Sale, New York, American Art Association Anderson Galleries, Inc., “The V. Everit Macy Collection: Including Rare and Important Persian and Mesopotamian Pottery, Persian and Indian Miniatures, Persian Brocades and Velvet Carpets,” January 6-8, 1938, lot 435 [5]

  1938

  Kirkor Minassian, New York, purchased at January 6-8, 1938 American Art Association Anderson Galleries Inc. Sale, New York, NY [6]

  From 1938

  The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Kirkor Minassian, New York [7]

  Notes:

  [1] See Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdād” [journal] “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5, (1942): p. 20, “It has been known for some time that these miniatures were formerly part of a Dioscorides manuscript containing the two last books of De materia medica and the treatises De venenis and De iis quae virus ciaculantur animalibus. The manuscript was until recently preserved in the Hagia Sophia Library and is now in the Top Kapi Saray in Istanbul.” See also Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach “An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection” [exhibition catalog] (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 55, and footnote 6, “The two pages in the Vever Collection are among at least thirty-one illustrated folios that were removed at the turn of this century from a lavish copy of the Materia Medica dated June-July 1224. The corpus of the text – containing 202 folios from the fourth and fifth books, two other treatises by Dioscorides, and a work by Hunayn b. Ishaq – is in the Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul.” Footnote 6 cites the source as “Aya Sofya no. 3703. Formerly in the Aya Sofya Kütüphanesi, Istanbul.” Additionally, see Ernst J. Grube, “Materialien zum Dioskurides Arabicus”. In “Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst,” edited by Richard Ettinghausen [book] (Berlin: Gebr. Mann), no. VI, pp. 172-178. On page 172, he writes, “Dreißig Blatt mit Miniaturen aus dieser Handschrift befinden sich in fünfzehn verschiedenen öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen Europas und Amerikas. Nur eine einzige Miniatur mit einer figürlichen Darstellung ist in der Handschrift verblieben (Fol. 2r).”

  In the mid twentieth century, some scholars mentioned that the manuscript had been moved from the Aya Sofya Library to the Topkapi Palace.

  Thereafter it went to the Süleymaniye Library, which has been the national repository for manuscripts in Türkiye since 1918. This painting was removed from the manuscript at an undetermined time before its transfer to the Topkapi Palace. See note 2.

  [2] Amongst Martin’s peers, it was recognized that the folios were part of the manuscript known as Aya Sofya 3703, and that Martin was the first owner of the detached folios. See F.R. Martin, “The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century [book] (London: Bernard Quaritch, Sr., 1912), vol. 1, p. 111. In the “List of Painters”, Martin wrote the following entry: “Abdallāh ibn al-Fadl, who painted: the miniatures in the Dioscorides Manuscript, part of which is in the possession of the author, dated A.H. 619 (A.D. 1222).” As early as 1929, Martin is cited as having been the owner of the Dioscorides’ folios: “Leaves from this manuscript, which once belonged to F. R. Martin, are now scattered all over the world”, in M. S. Dimand “Dated Specimens of Mohammedan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Part II: Manuscripts and Miniature Paintings,” “Metropolitan Museum Studies” vol. 1, no. 2 (May 1929): 208. And in Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdād,” “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5 (1942): p. 20, “If we look for kindred works of art, it is at once evident that the famous Dioscorides miniatures, formerly belonging to Dr. F. R. Martin, are most related to our ‘Hippiatrica’ manuscript”. For a publication citing Martin’s ownership, see F.R. Martin “A History of Oriental Carpets Before 1800” [book] (Vienna: Printed for the author, with subvention from the Swedish government, in the I. and R. State and Court Printing Office, 1908), fig. 14, and F.R. Martin, “The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century [book] (London: Bernard Quaritch, Sr., 1912), vol. 2, p. 1, pl. 7a; see also Ernst Kühnel, „Miniaturmalerei im Islamischen Orient“[book] (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer Verlag, 1922), pl. 4. Additionally, see Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson and Basil Grey, “Persian Miniature Painting: Including a Critical Descriptive catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March, 1931” [book] (London: Oxford University Press, 1933), cat. no. 14, “For other reproductions, see” and refers the reader to the aforementioned manuscripts by Martin and Kühnel. Fredrik Robert Martin was a collector, connoisseur, author, and Swedish diplomat assigned to Istanbul for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during a time of significant political and social unrest across the Ottoman Empire. It remains unclear how Martin acquired the folios.

  [3] See American Art Association Anderson Galleries, Inc., “The V. Everit Macy Collection: Including Rare and Important Persian and Mesopotamian Pottery, Persian and Indian Miniatures, Persian Brocades and Velvet Carpets,” January 6-8, 1938, lot 435. The miniature is described as “Two Alchemists” and attributed to Abdullah-ibn-al-Fadl, Mesopotamian, XIIIth Century. Note for lot 435 states, “Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1927-1929. From Dikran Kelekian, New York”. See also M. S. Dimand “Dated Specimens of Mohammedan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Part II: Manuscripts and Miniature Paintings,” “Metropolitan Museum Studies” vol. 1, no. 2 (May 1929): 208.

  [4] See note 3: cover page for the auction states “Property of the Estate of the Late V. Everit Macy. Sold by Order of the Executors”. Valentine Everit Macy was an industrialist, philanthropist, and public commissioner. He was a Trustee and a benefactor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a collector of Near Eastern Art.

  [5] See note 4 and 5. See also note 7.

  [6] See dealer file for Kirkor Minassian invoice to the Freer Gallery of Art, dated January 10, 1938, for three objects, including, ‘One miniature painting, “Two Alchemists [sic]” Dioscoride [sic]’. Additionally, see January 6, 1938 letter from Minassian to J.E. Lodge regarding F1938.1 and other objects which Minassian will try to acquire at the V. Everit Macy at the American Art Galleries, New York, including a sketch of the “Two Alchemists” miniature, also in dealer file. Kirkor Minassian was a collector and dealer in Islamic and Near Eastern antiquities, with galleries in New York and Paris.

  [7] See object file for copy of Kirkor Minassian invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated January 17, 1938, and marked approved on January 18, 1938.

  Research updated March 16, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 14, 1981 to May 10, 1985)

  Art of the Arab World (August 15, 1980 to May 13, 1981)

  Art of the Arab World (May 8, 1975 to August 20, 1977)

  Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 6 and 7 (February 25, 1956 to April 10, 1962)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Dikran Garabed Kelekian (1868-1951)

  V. Everit Macy (1871-1930)

  Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944)

• Origin

  Baghdad, Iraq

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  900s, 800s, 700s, 1100s, 1200s, 1000s

• Name

  Minassian, Kirkor, Martin, Fredrik Robert, Kelekian, Dikran Garabed, Macy, V. Everit

• Place

  Baghdad

• Topic

  Medicine, Art, De Materia Medica, Arts of the Islamic World, Plants

• Culture

  Muslims, Abbasids, Iraqis

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts