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Lot Essay
Each side of this unusual manuscript comprises two compartments which unfold revealing different concertina-form panels of text and illustration. A very similar traveller’s talismanic compendium recently sold at Sotheby’s, 25 October 2017, lot 44. That example had a colophon that was dated AH 1151/1738-39 AD and stated that it was copied in Misis in southern Turkey.
The texts included in this compendium, include the Hizb al-Bahr and Hizb Hazrat ‘Ali, various talismanic circles containing magic letters surrounded by the Ayat al-Kursi (Qur’an II, v.255), grids containing the Beautiful Names of God and the Names of the Prophet Muhammad, squares containing words and verses from suras, the hilyeh of the Prophet, a circle with the names of the four archangels, and a grid of magic letters. There are also numerous illustrations, including depictions of the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, the grave of the Prophet, graves of Abu Bakr, Umar, Fatima, the illustration of the scale (mizan) on Judgement Day and the mihrab of the Mosque of the Prophet. For a full list of the illustrations included in the compendium, please contact the department.
The texts included in this compendium, include the Hizb al-Bahr and Hizb Hazrat ‘Ali, various talismanic circles containing magic letters surrounded by the Ayat al-Kursi (Qur’an II, v.255), grids containing the Beautiful Names of God and the Names of the Prophet Muhammad, squares containing words and verses from suras, the hilyeh of the Prophet, a circle with the names of the four archangels, and a grid of magic letters. There are also numerous illustrations, including depictions of the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, the grave of the Prophet, graves of Abu Bakr, Umar, Fatima, the illustration of the scale (mizan) on Judgement Day and the mihrab of the Mosque of the Prophet. For a full list of the illustrations included in the compendium, please contact the department.