Folio from a copy of Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa ghara'ib al-mawjudat (The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existence) by Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (d.1283); recto: Symbol of the Sun; verso: Diagram of the Eclipses of the Sun

Object Details

• Author

  Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203-1283)

• Label

  The sun is the fourth sphere of the heavenly regions and is the king of planets. Al-Qazvini believed that the sun played a major role in rain cycles and was instrumental in the creation of the four winds. According to Al-Qazvini 36,000 years are required for the sun to pass through all of the signs of the zodiac.

• Provenance

  To 1945

  Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre (1865-1945). [1]

  To 1954

  Mme. Maria Sarre, Ascona, Switzerland. [2]

  From 1954

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dr. Paul Kempner, New York on behalf of Mme. Maria Sarre, Ascona, Switzerland. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file F1954.33-114, undated folder sheet note 2. “The manuscript was originally acquired by Prof. Friedrich Sarre in Algiers”.

  [2] Object file F1954.33-114, undated folder sheet note 1. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

  [3] See note 2. See also invoice dated July 22, 1954 and correspondences between Dr. Paul Kempner and the Freer Gallery, dated July 21, 1954; copies in object file.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Wonders of Creation, Oddities of Existence: An Exhibition in Celebration of Halley's Comet (February 28, 1986 to October 27, 1986)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 10, 1985 to September 3, 1985)

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

  Collection of Friedrich and Maria Sarre (1932)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre (1865-1945)

  Mme. Maria Sarre (1875-1971)

• Origin

  Iraq or Eastern Turkey

• 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

  1400s

• Name

  Sarre, Maria, Sarre, Friedrich Paul Theodor

• Place

  Sun

• Topic

  Art, Arts of the Islamic World, Wonders of Creation, Eclipses, Astronomy

• Culture

  Muslims, Iraqis, Turks

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts