Folio from an Arabic translation of De materia medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: The Greek physician Erasistratos with an assistant; verso: text

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Abdallah ibn al-Fadl

• Author

  Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 CE)

• Description

  Detached folio from an Arabic translation De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black naskh script; recto: illustration and text, The Greek physician Erasistratos with an assistant, one column, 7 lines; verso: text, one column, 13 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

• Label

  The Arabic copies of the Materia Medica are notable for their lively, often narrative compositions, as is evident from this illustration. The accompanying text quotes a number of remedies prescribed by the celebrated Greek physician Erasistratos of Alexandria (ca. 276-194 B.C.E.). Rather than simply depicting the plants in question, the artist has portrayed Erasistratos reclining on a bed with an open book at his feet. He is accompanied by an assistant, and both figures appear in deep contemplation, implying a critical aspect of the art of healing.

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Aya Sofya Library, Istanbul [1]

  By at least 1908-no later than 1914

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

  By at least 1914-1945

  Dr. Friedrich Sarre (1865-1945), method of acquisition unknown [3]

  1945-1947

  Mme. Maria Sarre (Mrs. Friedrich Sarre), inherited upon the death of her husband, Dr. Friedrich Sarre [4]

  From 1947

  The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Mme. Maria Sarre, through Arthur Upham Pope [5]

  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 Philipp Walter Schulz, “Die Persich-islamische Miniaturmalerei” [book] (Leipzig: Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann, 1914), pl. 5a. Schulz attributes the folio to the collection of Sarre; and see Ernst Diez, “Die Kunst der Islamischen Völker” [book] (Berlin-Neubabelsberg: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft Athenaion, 1917), p. 185, pl. 252. See also Heinrich Glück and Ernst Diez, “Die Kunst des Islam” [book] (Propyläen-Verlag: Berlin, 1925), pl. 36, as well as Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdād” [journal] “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5, (1942): p. 28, fig28, where it is identified as “F. Sarre Collection – on loan, Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin”.

  [4] See object file for letter dated April 18, 1947, from Mme. Maria Sarre to A. G. Wenley, stating that she is enclosing a bill in triplicate for the “Miniature from the Dioscorides, Materia Medica, representing Erasistratos and his scholar, dates 1222, which you bought from me in August 1939.” She further states that she authorizes Arthur Upham Pope to receive payment on her behalf. See also vault card for June 1939, recording receipt of “Persian painting – page from a Dioscorides Ms. dated 1222 or 1224 – owned by Madame F. Sarre. Received Aug. 29, 1939 (by registered mail) from Eustache de Lorey”. The manuscript was in the custodianship of the Freer Gallery of Art from 1939.

  [5] See object file for Mme. Maria Sarre invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated April 18, 1947 and marked approved by the Secretary on November 21, 1939, with note “Pay to: Arthur Upham Pope”. See also note 5.

  Research updated March 10, 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)

  Islamic Art (May 9, 1993 to June 3, 1997)

  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—Paintings, Metalwork (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre (1865-1945)

  Mme. Maria Sarre (1875-1971)

• Origin

  Probably 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

  Sarre, Maria, Martin, Fredrik Robert, Sarre, Friedrich Paul Theodor

• Place

  Baghdad

• Topic

  Art, De Materia Medica, Physicians, Arts of the Islamic World

• Culture

  Muslims, Abbasids, Iraqis

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts