A world of beasts : a thirteenth-century illustrated Arabic book on animals (the Kitab Na't al-Hayawan) in the Ibn Bakhtishu' tradition / by Anna Contadini.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Contadini, Anna.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Arab.

Islamic illumination of books and manuscripts.

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval--Arab countries.

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval.

Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval--Islamic countries.

Bestiaries--Arab countries.

Bestiaries.

Nat al-hayawan--Illustrations.

Nat al-hayawan.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 209 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Thirteenth-century illustrated Arabic book on animals (the Kitab Nat al-hayawan) in the Ibn Bakhtishu tradition

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Kitāb Naʿt al-Ḥayawān is the earliest of a group of illustrated manuscripts dealing with the characteristics of animals and their medicinal uses. The present study considers both the confluence of textual traditions within this work and the stylistic and iconographic relationships of its illustrations, which make it a key witness to early thirteenth-century Arab painting. After a re-evaluation of previous approaches, emphasis is placed on relating image to text, on stylistic affiliations, and on the modalities of production, supported by technical analyses undertaken for the first time. In elucidating the particular context of this unique manuscript, the study contributes to our understanding of a critical period in the development of Middle Eastern painting and art.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

I Introduction: Image and (Con)text

II The Manuscript

III Text and Sources

IV The Frontispieces and Other Human Figures

V The Animals of the Naʿt

VI Composition, Iconography and Style

VII Date and Provenance

VIII Patronage and Milieu

Appendix One Analyses of Colours, Ink and Gold

Appendix Two List of Illustrations

Appendix Three Selected List of Illuminated and Illustrated Manuscripts Cited

Colour Plates Catalogue of the Paintings of the Kitāb Naʿt al-Ḥayawān

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-33487-9

9786613334879

90-04-22265-0

OCLC:

769190418

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004222656 DOI