SIGNED ISMA'IL AL-FATHI, OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED AH 1193/1779-80 AD

The depiction of Mecca in this manuscript is very detailed. It also depicts a stylised pilgrimage route extending to the left of the Holy Sanctuary leading towards Mt. Arafat via a mosque with a single minaret which could be either the Masjid Nimrah, Bia’h or al-Khayf. The form of this mosque with its single dome and minaret is very similar to that depicted in an engraving by Carl Ponheimer in Vienna in 1803, (Venetia Porter (ed.), Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, exhibition catalogue, London, 2012, fig.5, pp.28-29). The engraving of Mecca by Ponheimer was based on an illustration produced by Ignace de Mouradgea d’Hosson in 1787 which would be almost contemporaneous with our manuscript. On the facing page the depiction of the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina is also very fine. The illustration includes a vivid description of Fatima’s garden with a pair of curved palm trees and a detailed depiction of the Prophet’s minbar. The illustration of the interior of the Mosque of the Prophet is exceptional for its notion of perspective and its depiction of the Tomb of the Prophet draped in a green calligraphic textile hanging. The depiction of the beams of the roof of the mosque with the scrolling vine and bands of strapwork is reminiscent of Ottoman illumination of the late 18th century.