Walters Ms. W.593, Wonders of creation

W.593

Wonders of creation

ʿAjāyib al-makhlūqāt va-gharāyib al-mawjūdāt

Vernacular: عجايب المخلوقات وغرايب الموجودات

Authority name: Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd, 12th cent.

As-written name: Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad al-Salmānī al-Ṭūsī

Name, in vernacular: شمس الدين محمد بن محمود بن احمد السلمانى الطوسى

Note: The author's name is given in the roundels on fols. 1a and 3b. He lived in the sixth century AH / twelfth CE.

This is an illuminated and illustrated copy of a Persian version of the famous ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of creation) by Zakariyāʾ al-Qazwīnī (d. 682 AH / 1283 CE), composed by Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (fl. sixth century AH / twelfth CE). The text, in black nastaʿlīq script, may have been written by an Iranian scribe in the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE in Ottoman Turkey. It opens with an illuminated medallion inscribed with the author's name (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a). The text is illustrated with one hundred eighty-one paintings of different sizes that offer an interesting iconography for Ṭūsī manuscripts. The red leather binding is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.

10th century AH / 16th CE

Turkey

Book

Historical

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic.

Paper

Thick laid paper

Foliation: ii+232+ii

Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos

Comments:

23.5 cm wide by 36.0 cm high

13.0 cm wide by 22.5 cm high

1. Columns: 1
2. Ruled lines: 21
3. Framing lines in gold and blue

fols. 1b - 232a:

1. Title: ʿAjāyib al-makhlūqāt va-gharāyib al-mawjūdāt
2. Author: Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd, 12th cent.
3. Incipit: بسم الله...حمد بيحد خالقى را كه عجايب مخلوقات...
4. Text note: Main chapter headings and some quotations in Arabic
5. Hand note: Written in nastaʿlīq script in black, red, and gold ink
6. Decoration note: One hundred eighty-one illustrations; double-page illuminated incipit; illuminated medallion inscribed with author's name; framing lines in gold and blue

fol. 1a:

1. 
2. Title: Illuminated medallion inscribed with author's name
3. Form: Frontispiece; Medallion
4. Label: This illuminated medallion is inscribed with the author's name, Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad al-Salmānī al-Ṭūsī.

fol. 1b:

1. 
2. Title: Double-page illuminated incipit
3. Form: Incipit
4. Label: This is the right side of a double-page illuminated incipit inscribed with the title of the manuscript and the first lines of the preface.

fol. 2a:

1. 
2. Title: Double-page illuminated incipit
3. Form: Incipit
4. Label: This is the left side of a double-page illuminated incipit inscribed with the title of the manuscript and the first lines of the preface.

fol. 3b:

1. 
2. Title: The prophet Abraham and the four birds he brought to life
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 9b:

1. 
2. Title: Four angels carrying the throne of God (the orbit)
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 10b:

1. 
2. Title: The angel Isrāfīl with his trumpet
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 11a:

1. 
2. Title: Two angels
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 12a:

1. 
2. Title: Two angels
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 13a:

1. 
2. Title: An angel looks at a dead man lying on the ground
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 18a:

1. 
2. Title: The sun depicted as a king
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 19b:

1. 
2. Title: The moon represented by two angels embracing each other
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 20a:

1. 
2. Title: Saturn with several attributes, including a dragon, a simurgh, and jugs
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 20b:

1. 
2. Title: Jupiter as a king enthroned
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 21a:

1. 
2. Title: Mars with many attributes
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 21b:

1. 
2. Title: Venus accompanied by six women
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 22a:

1. 
2. Title: Mercury as a prince
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 24a:

1. 
2. Title: Aries and Taurus
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 24b:

1. 
2. Title: Gemini
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 25a:

1. 
2. Title: Cancer and Leo (and the sun combined)
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 25b:

1. 
2. Title: Virgo and Libra
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 26a:

1. 
2. Title: Scorpio
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 26b:

1. 
2. Title: Sagittarius and Capricorn
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 27a:

1. 
2. Title: Aquarius
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 27b:

1. 
2. Title: Pisces; an old woman under a tree and a child jumping from the tree
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 28a:

1. 
2. Title: The Prophet Muhammad’s ascension into heaven
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 32a:

1. 
2. Title: A fabulous creature in Sind that appears at a fire-temple
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 33a:

1. 
2. Title: Siyāvush on horseback
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 33b:

1. 
2. Title: Zoroaster visits Rustam
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 34b:

1. 
2. Title: A rainbow with the faces of the sun and moon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 35b:

1. 
2. Title: A man on a headless horse
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 36b:

1. 
2. Title: Demons riding a boar and a bear
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 37b:

1. 
2. Title: A battle of Amir of Khurasan against the Turks
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 38b:

1. 
2. Title: A large, winged fish
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 39b:

1. 
2. Title: Enthroned Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd and an old Arab who brought him water from the desert
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 40b:

1. 
2. Title: Nūshīrvān sleeping on the throne he built on top of the dam in the land of the Khazars
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 41b:

1. 
2. Title: The killing of Afrāsiyāb is discovered in the lake of Khanjast
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 42a:

1. 
2. Title: An idol on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 42b:

1. 
2. Title: A man lowers an inscribed tablet from the bridge on the river Sabḥān to calm its waters
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 43a:

1. 
2. Title: Kay Khusraw watches fabulous creatures in Lake Zarah
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 44a:

1. 
2. Title: Divers return jewels thrown into Lake Shīrah to a king
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 44b:

1. 
2. Title: Divers in the Sea of ʿUmān save themselves by feeding the fish and monsters
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 46a:

1. 
2. Title: Two men in a boat watch sirens and a large turtle at the Sea of Qusṭanṭinīyah
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 46b:

1. 
2. Title: An angel warning the prophet Khiz̤r not to explore the depths of the Sea of Harkand
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 47a:

1. 
2. Title: An idol in the River Andalus warns people not to continue their journey
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 48b:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great, his soldiers, and the prophets Khiḍr and Elijah at the Fountain of Life
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 50b:

1. 
2. Title: A king on horseback at a spring near Bāmiyān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 51a:

1. 
2. Title: A naked woman exposes her private parts in front of an idol, a demon, and two men with a dog
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 52b:

1. 
2. Title: First half of a map of the world
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 53a:

1. 
2. Title: Second half of a map of the world
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 55a:

1. 
2. Title: Birds brought from Arabia
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 56a:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great on horseback and two angels holding Mount Qāf
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 56b:

1. 
2. Title: Warriors on horseback fight enormous ants at Jabal al-aḥmar
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 59a:

1. 
2. Title: Lighthouses with a cat, a monkey, and the heads of animals and humans
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 60b:

1. 
2. Title: Two men watch a dragon and white vultures eating meat with diamonds sticking to it
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 61b:

1. 
2. Title: A woman, accompanied by a child, leads a bull with a demon lying at its feet
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 68a:

1. 
2. Title: Two young men shooting at snakes in a tree in the presence of a demon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 68b:

1. 
2. Title: A civet cat in a cage
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 73a:

1. 
2. Title: A king enthroned during the feast of Nawrūz
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 74a:

1. 
2. Title: A dragon guards the treasure found by Anūshīrvān and his vizier Būzurjmihr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 75a:

1. 
2. Title: The Caliph Muḥammad Amīn and a winged horse coming out of a pool into which his ring had fallen
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 77a:

1. 
2. Title: Bahrām Gūr hunting while Fitnah plays a harp
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 78b:

1. 
2. Title: The mosque compound in Mecca with the kaʿbah in the center
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 80a:

1. 
2. Title: A fight at the mosque in Medina to protect the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 81a:

1. 
2. Title: Five men watch flames appear once every year in the Temple of David in Jerusalem
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 81b:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon enthroned in the company of animals, humans, and demons
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 82b:

1. 
2. Title: The hanging of a man believed to be Jesus
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 83a:

1. 
2. Title: Jesus and a dragon with a tree growing from its mouth
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 85b:

1. 
2. Title: Three tombs of the prophets Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in Bethlehem
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 87b:

1. 
2. Title: A lion and a ram tied to a post to delineate the boundary of the city of Baghdad
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 88b:

1. 
2. Title: Two thieves collect fruit in the garden of Solomon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 89b:

1. 
2. Title: Queen Sheba enthroned with a number of men paying her homage
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 90b:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great meets two harpies perched on top of two pillars in the town of Jābalasā
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 91a:

1. 
2. Title: An idol defends the fortress of Jāriyah with a bow and arrows
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 92b:

1. 
2. Title: A rooster made of copper puts pears into glass bowls
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 94a:

1. 
2. Title: A widow of a deceased king of Ceylon strikes his coffin with a sword
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 95a:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great watches the wall being built between Gog and Magog
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 96a:

1. 
2. Title: Minaret in the town of Sarīrah
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 97a:

1. 
2. Title: One of two brothers sits on the wall on the river Nile
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 98a:

1. 
2. Title: Running lions near the town of Ṭabarīyah
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 99a:

1. 
2. Title: A large fish with four legs, known as Saqanqūr, at Fusṭāṭ
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 100b:

1. 
2. Title: White squirrels on trees in Kāshghar
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 102a:

1. 
2. Title: Moses removes a large stone from a well to water his sheep
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 103a:

1. 
2. Title: Three men worship an idol of Mūltān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 104a:

1. 
2. Title: The devil copulates with a pig with his offspring on the right side
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 105b:

1. 
2. Title: The interior of a mosque in Haramān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 106b:

1. 
2. Title: A warrior on horseback with two other men in front of a fortress in Yemen
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 107b:

1. 
2. Title: People turned into stone in a city in Ḥaḍramawt
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 108b:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon, enthroned, speaks to the king of the Fortress of Qaṭrān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 111a:

1. 
2. Title: A tree on Mount Lābīs with the heads of humans and animals growing from it
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 115a:

1. 
2. Title: The devil, a man killing a lion, and the vine
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 116b:

1. 
2. Title: A man being saved by clinging to the feet of a bird and a dog pulling out mandrakes with female heads
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 118a:

1. 
2. Title: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib on horseback killing a dragon with the Prophet Muhammad and Bilāl looking on
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 119a:

1. 
2. Title: Three depictions of idols and worshipers from India and Andalusia
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 119b:

1. 
2. Title: Three depictions of idol worship
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 120a:

1. 
2. Title: Four depictions of idol worship
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 120b:

1. 
2. Title: Two depictions of idol worship
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 122a:

1. 
2. Title: Two men touch a nude statue
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 122b:

1. 
2. Title: Anūshīrvān’s veiled body lying on a throne, visited by the Caliph al-Maʾmūn and another man
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 123a:

1. 
2. Title: A man watches a fantastic animal
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 124a:

1. 
2. Title: An official shows Alexander the Great treasure hidden in large jars
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 125b:

1. 
2. Title: A man fights a lion
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 126b:

1. 
2. Title: A man, watched by a lion and a jackal, tries to catch a monkey in a tree
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 130a:

1. 
2. Title: A man, watched by an ape, tries to milk a lioness
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 132b:

1. 
2. Title: An angel leads a demon who told a story to King Solomon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 133b:

1. 
2. Title: A group of women beat a man whom they mistook for an intruder
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 134b:

1. 
2. Title: Three kings of the people of ʿĀd tossed up into the air for mocking Moses
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 136a:

1. 
2. Title: Giant women, who later became part of Alexander the Great’s army, battle warriors on horseback
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 136b:

1. 
2. Title: Alexander the Great and his men meet a giant near Bābil
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 137b:

1. 
2. Title: A warrior, hidden behind a rock, watches a man-like creature
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 139a:

1. 
2. Title: Demon warriors slaughtered in battle
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 141a:

1. 
2. Title: A man watches two hunters follow an animal with a human head
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 142a:

1. 
2. Title: A sculpture of a man on horseback venerated by people of North Africa
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 143b:

1. 
2. Title: A king pierces himself with a sword in front of an idol
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 144b:

1. 
2. Title: Garshāsf bends an iron bow in the presence of the king of Rūm and his daughter
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 146a:

1. 
2. Title: ʿAlī, on horseback, kills a lion to save his friend Salmān
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 149a:

1. 
2. Title: Galen, in the presence of Hippocrates, tries to remove a worm from the head of a Roman king
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 150b:

1. 
2. Title: An amir of Khurasan is surprised at the figure of a man
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 152a:

1. 
2. Title: A king of Khurasan has his leg treated by a physician
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 153a:

1. 
2. Title: A king and a man, brought to a fortress by a bird, fall from the building while wrestling
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 153b:

1. 
2. Title: A woman brings a bowl of milk on her head
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 155a:

1. 
2. Title: A vizier speaks with a king of Iṣṭakhr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 157b:

1. 
2. Title: Old holy men in a cave in India
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 158b:

1. 
2. Title: Two men carry the coffin of Alexander the Great
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 159a:

1. 
2. Title: A lover of one of the wives of Nūshīrvān is brought before him and Būzurjmihr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 160a:

1. 
2. Title: A man kneels before a man-eating monk
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 162a:

1. 
2. Title: The demon Halhāl with an animal head and feet
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 162b:

1. 
2. Title: A king watches a demon copulating with his donkey
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 163b:

1. 
2. Title: A man visits the enthroned devil
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 164b:

1. 
2. Title: The demon Akvān carries Rustam sleeping on a rock
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 166a:

1. 
2. Title: Three men carry three other men with weak legs
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 167a:

1. 
2. Title: A woman-demon falls off the horse of a man
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 168b:

1. 
2. Title: A king watches strange creatures (people of the sea)
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 170a:

1. 
2. Title: A man and woman make love
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 170b:

1. 
2. Title: A young man and a girl with a baby in her arms appear before the throne of King Solomon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 172b:

1. 
2. Title: A sīmurgh fights a dragon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 173b:

1. 
2. Title: Two ostriches with camel heads kill a wolf
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 175b:

1. 
2. Title: Seven cranes with swords in their bills and flames shooting up
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 176b:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon questions an owl sitting on a grave
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 177a:

1. 
2. Title: Two storks attack another stork and a crow with a snake around its neck
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 178a:

1. 
2. Title: A bird like a peacock with a lion’s head
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 178b:

1. 
2. Title: A man watches a strange animal from behind a cart
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 179a:

1. 
2. Title: An elephant
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 181b:

1. 
2. Title: A sea-cow
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 182b:

1. 
2. Title: A sea-horse with large wings
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 183a:

1. 
2. Title: A man with wings and feet like a horse and two other men eating
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 184a:

1. 
2. Title: An angel, the prophet Ezra, and his donkey
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 185b:

1. 
2. Title: The Prophet Muhammad on horseback kills Abū Khalaf at Badr
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 186b:

1. 
2. Title: ʿUmūrīyah, a daughter of King Faylaqūs, milks a goat
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 188a:

1. 
2. Title: A rhinoceros fights an elephant
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 190b:

1. 
2. Title: A lion kills ʿUtbah ibn Abī Lahab
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 192b:

1. 
2. Title: A tiger and a lion in combat
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 193b:

1. 
2. Title: Abraham in the fire with the angels Gabriel and Michael on the left
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 194b:

1. 
2. Title: A hyena places its foot on a dog’s shadow, forcing it to come down from a building
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 195b:

1. 
2. Title: The Seven Sleepers and their dog
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 197a:

1. 
2. Title: Dogs fighting beavers and a fish with a moon face (representing Sirius) in its mouth
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 199a:

1. 
2. Title: Musicians make noise with their instruments to force a bear out of a ruined mill
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 200a:

1. 
2. Title: An enthroned king watches copulating donkeys and pigs with two lions (above) in wait for their prey
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 201b:

1. 
2. Title: A dog kills a fox in the presence of a gesticulating man
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 203a:

1. 
2. Title: A prophet on horseback (representing the people of Israel) fights two warriors
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 204a:

1. 
2. Title: Two women beat a civet cat in a cage to make it produce its distinctive musk
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 207a:

1. 
2. Title: Two men approach the prophet Jonah
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 208b:

1. 
2. Title: Various types of fish in the water
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 210a:

1. 
2. Title: Two men with bows and arrows shoot at each other while trying to kill lions; two saqanqūrs in the water
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 213a:

1. 
2. Title: Isfandiyār ibn Garshāsb fights a dragon
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 215a:

1. 
2. Title: A king in front of a man on a cow with scorpions; a man, with his hands tied, about to be executed with a sword
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 217a:

1. 
2. Title: A man watches two oversized locusts from behind a hill
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 219a:

1. 
2. Title: The Prophet Muhammad and Abū Bakr hide in a cave on their way to Medina, with the help of a spider
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 220a:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon, with his entourage of angels, demons, and birds, talks to the king of the ants
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 222a:

1. 
2. Title: A man who put himself in the place of a donkey is led by a rope by the donkey’s owner
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 223b:

1. 
2. Title: A woman, trying to prevent her lover leaving the house, lies to her husband about the man’s identity
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 224a:

1. 
2. Title: A robber ties up a cloth merchant while his companions clean out the house
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 226a:

1. 
2. Title: A man fights the devil
3. Form: Illustration

fol. 229a:

1. 
2. Title: King Solomon enthroned in the presence of a prophet, angels, demons, animals, and birds
3. Form: Illustration

The binding is not original.

Probably thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; red leather with flap; blind-tooled central oval

Old shelf mark in Hindu-Arabic numerals 1834 inscribed on the tail-edge and below an erased seal on fol. 1a

Ex libris Henry Walters on the upper board inside

Storey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 2. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 121-2.

Rührdanz, Karin. “An Ottoman Illustrated Version of Muhammad al-Tusi’s Aja’ib al-Makhluqat.” Arab Historical Review for Ottoman Studies 19/20 (1999): 455-475.

Richard, Francis. Splendeurs persanes: manuscrits du XIIe au XVIIe siècle. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1997), no. 33.

Principal cataloger: Gacek, Adam

Catalogers: Landau, Amy; Smith, Sita

Copy editor: Bockrath, Diane

Conservators: Jewell, Stephanie; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Barrera, Christina; Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Simpson, Shreve; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Valle, Chiara

The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.