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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.44
People
Unknown Artist
Title
Constellations (painting, recto and verso), folio from a manuscript of the Aja'ib al-Makhluqat by Qazwini
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Aja'ib al-Makhluqat
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
c. 1640
Places
Creation Place: Central Asia, Yemen
Culture
Yemeni
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216270

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and silver on paper
Dimensions
29.8 x 21.1 cm (11 3/4 x 8 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
John Goelet III, New York, (by 1960), gift; to The Fogg Museum of Art.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Goelet
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.44
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This folio represents the Constellation of the Eagle, in the form of a blue fleur-de-lys; Constellation of the bird, also called the Chicken (probably Ornis, Cygnus, the Swan); Constellation of the Chicken-Bird; Constellation of Women with the seat; Constellation of Cassiopea, represented as a woman seated on a chair with her legs dangling; Constellation of Perseus, or the Bearer of the Demon's Head.
This folio is from 'Part One' of the manuscript on heavenly things, the chapter on the characteristics of the constellations of the northern sphere. This page probably comes from a manuscript with a colophon stating that it was written in South Arabia, Yemen, in 1640.

Publication History

  • Marianna Shreve Simpson, Arab and Persian Painting in the Fogg Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1980), pp. 15, 112, no. 47

Exhibition History

  • Image?, The Aga Khan Museum, 04/09/2022 - 09/04/2022

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu