Lot Essay
The constellation of al-hawwa, the serpent bearer, is also known as Ophiuchus. Around the serpent bearer is the snake, al-hayyah or Serpentis. Inscriptions in the body of the painting identify some of the stars including the neck of the serpent ('unq al-haya) and the beginning of the Northern Line (al-nasaq al-shami). This constellation is illustrated in the kitab suwar al-kawakib al-thabita of al-Sufi in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 13.160.10, page 99).