Lot 75
al-Jadawil al-Taqwimiyyah, a Mamluk astronomical compilation, with researched and verified schedules and tables, attributed to the well-known astronomer and timekeeper at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Khalili, (died AH 800/ AD 1397), Syria, Damascus, first half of 15th Century
29 April 2004, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£4,000 - £5,000
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Find your local specialistal-Jadawil al-Taqwimiyyah, a Mamluk astronomical compilation, with researched and verified schedules and tables, attributed to the well-known astronomer and timekeeper at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Khalili, (died AH 800/ AD 1397), Syria, Damascus, first half of 15th Century
Arabic manuscript on paper of a narrow vertical format, 72 leaves, 30-33 lines of text to the page, copied in clear black naskhi script, with headings and important words highlighted in red ink, the introduction is followed by astronomical tables and schedules in red and black ink, a later brown leather binding
285 x 100 mm.
285 x 100 mm.
Footnotes
Shams al-Din Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad in Muhammad al-Khalili, was a well-known astronomer in Damascus where he held the grand office of astronomer and chief timekeeper of the Umayyad Mosque till he died in 800 AH/1397 AD. He was a contemporary and a colleague of the famous astronomer 'Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, called Ibn al-Shatir, whose works and inventions contributed much to the science of astronomy.
A very similar astronomical manuscript by the same author was copied at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 831 AH/1427 AD, see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, October 2000, lot 38.