Folio from Aja'ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) by al-Qazvini; recto: Archangel Gabriel (Jabril); verso: Archangel Michael (Mikayyil)

Object Details

• Author

  Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203-1283)

• Label

  Al-Qazwini's Wonders of Creation is an encyclopedic work on the cosmology and geography of the world. The text was composed in thirteenth-century Iraq, and is divided into two main sections that discuss heavenly and earthly bodies. The page on view is from one of the earliest surviving illustrated versions and depicts the archangel Michael, known as Mikael in Arabic. According to al-Qazwini, the angel stands on the overflowing sea of the seventh heaven and is in charge of humans and the presence of wisdom and knowledge in souls. His attendants rule over the entire world and have power over resurrection and generation.

  The representation of the archangel, dressed according to fourteenth-century norms, also implies a certain humility and gentleness, thus adding to our understanding of this powerful, heavenly creature.

• 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

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

  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 14, 1981 to May 10, 1985)

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

  Collection of Friedrich and Maria Sarre (1932)

  Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Mohammedanischer Kunst in München (May to October 1910)

• 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

• Topic

  Art, Arts of the Islamic World, Archangel, Wonders of Creation

• Culture

  Muslims, Iraqis, Turks

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts