Folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: Outdoor scene with a mad dog biting a man; verso: text

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Abdallah ibn al-Fadl

• Author

  Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 CE)

• Description

  Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black and red naskh script; recto: Outdoor scene with a mad dog biting a man, one column, 6 lines; verso: text, one column, 13 lines; one of a group of 9 folios.

• Marks

  Top left verso: "E.M." written in [possibly] pencil.

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Aya Sofya Library, Istanbul [1]

  Likely by at least 1908-no later than 1912

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

  By at least 1912-1925

  Eugène Mutiaux (1846-1925), method of acquisition unknown [3]

  About 1925-1953

  The object’s ownership and whereabouts are unknown

  From 1953

  The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from identified owner through Rosenberg & Stiebel [4]

  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 catalogue] (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 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. 7, pl. B. In the indices, p. 153, the manuscript is cited as being in the collection of the Imperial Library, Vienna (B.I.V.). However, in Ernst Kühnel, “Miniaturmalerei im Islamischen Orient“ [book] (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer Verlag, 1922), p. 51, pl. 4-6, and Kurt Holter, “Die Islamischen Miniaturhandschriften vor 1350” [essay](Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1937), p. 11, no. 27, it is cited as being in the collection of F.R. Martin. Additionally, see G. Marteau and H. Vever, “Miniatures Persanes: tirées des collections de MM. Henry d’Allemagne, Claude Anet, Henri Aubry…et Exposées au Musée des Décoratifs, Juin-Octobre 1912” [book] (Paris: Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie, 1913), pl. 1, which cites the manuscript in the collection of Eugène Mutiaux. See also Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdād” [journal] “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5 (1942): 42, fig. 30, which also credits the manuscript to the Mutiaux Collection. Mutiaux died in 1925, and currently no information regarding a spouse or descendants has been identified; however, it is possible that this object was retained by his estate. Eugène Mutiaux was a French magistrate and a collector of diverse works, including Islamic, Korean, Japanese, and European art of the Middle Ages. He was godfather to Marcel Proust, and upon his death he bequeathed most of his collection to various French museums.

  [4] See object file for Rosenberg & Stiebel invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated July 21, 1953, and marked approved on July 7, 1953. See also letter from Saemy Rosenberg to Dr. Richard Ettinghausen dated April 27, 1953, wherein he states “the owner consented to having the original sent to New York and it gives me pleasure to inform you that it has arrived today.” Rosenberg & Stiebel was founded ca. 1860 by Jacob Rosenbaum, in Frankfurt am Main, selling German porcelain, Renaissance and Medieval objects. It expanded to a family business, including son Isaak and nephews Saemy Rosenberg, and Eric and Hans Stiebel. By 1939, the firm had galleries in Amsterdam, London, and New York.

  Research updated March 17, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  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)

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

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts, 1955 (April 12, 1955 to December 16, 1955)

  Special Exhibition, Near Eastern Art (September 15, 1953 to February 9, 1954)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts, 1947 (October 6, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Eugene Mutiaux (1846-1925)

  Rosenberg & Stiebel

• 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

  Rosenberg & Stiebel, Martin, Fredrik Robert, Mutiaux, Eugene

• Place

  Baghdad

• Topic

  Art, Animals, De Materia Medica, Rabies, Men, Dogs, Arts of the Islamic World

• Culture

  Muslims, Abbasids, Iraqis

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts