SAFAVID IRAN, LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

ZIJ-I ULUGH BEG
SAFAVID IRAN, LATE 17TH CENTURY
Astronomical tables, Arabic manuscript on paper, 264ff. plus 3 fly-leaves and 9 smaller added leaves, text pages with 17ll. of elegant nasta'liq with significant words picked out in red, tables in red and black naskh and nasta'liq, margins in gold and polychrome, opening biofolio with illuminated headpiece and text in cloud panels reserved against gold, marginal illumination of scrolling floral motifs, frontispiece with later gold and polychrome illuminated medallion, later shagreen with stamped central medallions, doublures of brown morocco with stamped decoration
Text 7 1/8 x 4½in. (18 x 11.5cm.); folio 9½ x 7in. (24.2 x 17.6cm.)

Provenance

Anon sale, Sotheby's London, 26 April 1995, lot 61

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The Zij-i Ulugh Beg is an astronomical table and star catalogue that was created by the Timurid Prince Ulugh Beg, based on the 13th century Zij-i Ilkhani of the scholar Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (see lot 109). It is one of the most influential astronomical works of medieval times. It was the joint product of the work of a group of astronomers working in an observatory at Samarkand under the patronage of Ulugh Beg.

More from Art of The Islamic and Indian World

View All