52 Weeks of Inspiring Illustrations, Week 50: the Book of Wonders

speccoll
Monday 1 July 2013
'Island of Tin, plagued by dragons,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of Tin, plagued by dragons,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))

We have always referred to this manuscript (St Andrews ms32(o)) as the ‘book of wonders’ and indeed wondered what it was all about as it is lavishly and confusingly illustrated, packed with mysterious monsters and people doing strange things, but as it is written in Persian we could never be certain what it was all about. Now I have had the help of an Iranian student, Fatemeh Salimi, to try to make sense of it. While an Islamic art historian could tell a lot more about the images that I can, the illustrations are so fabulous that they are worth reproducing here even if I haven’t got their interpretation quite right.

A rabbit with a human head from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A rabbit with a human head from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A fish with a human head with snakes coming out of its head, from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A fish with a human head with snakes coming out of its head, from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Rabbits with fish-tails, from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Rabbits with fish-tails, from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Abraha's attack on Mecca (St Andrews ms32(o))
Abraha’s attack on Mecca (St Andrews ms32(o))

The manuscript is actually incomplete parts of 2 works, bound together, the first being an abbreviated section of Haiyat al-Haiyawan حَياة الْحَيوان الكُبرى or Lives of the Animals, by Muhammad Ibn Musa Kamal Ad-din Al-Damiri (1341-1405). It is a compilation of works by many authors on the 931 animals mentioned in the Qur’an, including folklore, proverbs, lawfulness of hunting and eating, medical uses and meaning of names, the interpretation of dreams about each animal, and often a quirky miniature painting of one or many of the creatures in question. Some are recognisable, such as the foxes, cats, dogs, rabbits and goats; advice on pigeon keeping (doocot); the circle of elephants depicts the attack on Mecca by Abraha, king of Yemen, around 570, who brought his war elephants intending to destroy the Kaaba. The hoopoe, or huh-hud in Persian, introduced King Solomon to the Queen of Sheba and represents virtue. The snake wrapped around the world was evicted from paradise and can never be trusted.

A hoopoe from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A hoopoe from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Jinns from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Jinns from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
al-burāq from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
al-burāq from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))

Others are clearly imaginary or exist only in Muslim tradition, such as al-burāq, the famous mount with human face, horse’s mane, peacock tail and camel’s feet on which Muhammad ascended to heaven; the simurgh, a mythical bird with the head of a dog and lion’s claws; and the jinns with wings or with elephant, cat and rabbit heads.

'Island of the giant bird,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of the giant bird,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
'Island of long beards,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of long beards,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
'Island of Cyprus,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of Cyprus,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Many bizarre fish, including a hedgehog-headed fish, an owl-headed fish and a fish with a person coming out of its head! From 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Many bizarre fish, including a hedgehog-headed fish, an owl-headed fish and a fish with a person coming out of its head! From 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))

The second part of the manuscript consists of extravagantly illustrated extracts from the ‘Wonders of the Seven Seas’ section of ‘Aja’ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara’ib al-mawjudat (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) by Abu Yahya Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud-al-Qazwini (ca. 1203-1283 CE), known as al-Qazwini. This cosmography was originally written in Arabic but often translated into Persian and Turkish and numerous manuscripts survive. The complete work deals with the heavenly sphere, combining astrology with astomony; then the earthly sphere and the 4 elements that make it up. Here we have only the section on wonders of the seas and seashores, showing the diverse and exotic inhabitants of many islands throughout the China and Indian seas. Island may also refer to a geographical region or feature rather than actually meaning island. Many of the seas and islands feature mythical giant birds, dragons, and curious hybrid creatures, fish with heads of owls or hedgehogs, a fish-rabbit and various animals with human heads. The animal-headed creatures are probably jinns or demons who lived in remote places such as islands, mountains and sea shores. There are kings, palaces, shrines, ships and beautiful women in the king’s harem on some islands, or available to buy on others. Other islands feature merchants, artisans, and bearded natives. One real named island is Cyprus – others may be real or imaginary.

'Island of goats,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of goats,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
'Island of Samarandap,' from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
‘Island of Samarandap,’ from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Woodlice from "The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Woodlice from “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))

Both works are compendia of what was known at the time, drawn from Greek, Roman and Islamic scholarship, with little original research by the compilers, but were very popular and helped to transmit the received wisdom of the times to later Islamic and Western academics.

A snake wrapped around the world from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A snake wrapped around the world from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Cats from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Cats from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
The arrival of King Solomon from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
The arrival of King Solomon from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Men with guns and clubs from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
Men with guns and clubs from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A doocot (dove house) from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))
A doocot (dove house) from 17th or 18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32(o))

Although the manuscript is in Persian, it was created and illustrated in India, probably in the 18th century – it bears no date or names of the copyist or artist. The style of illustrations and design of the 2 manuscripts are very similar and so probably came from the same artist’s workshop – perhaps the artist died or was not paid for any more work and the manuscripts were sold off as unfinished and incomplete. The texts may have been selected to bring to a Western audience, accounting for their partial nature, but not for their unfinished state. Whatever the reason for the volume being created, its wonderful drawings and paintings repay detailed study.

See another version of the Wonders of Creation by al-Qazwini here:

http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/flash/qazwini/qazwini.html

Maia Sheridan
Manuscripts Archivist

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7 thoughts on "52 Weeks of Inspiring Illustrations, Week 50: the Book of Wonders"

  • Gajah by Afiq Rahmat | ISSUE Magazine
    Friday 14 February 2014, 5.18pm

    […] Lakaran peristiwa serangan tentera bergajah Abraha dari kitab Haiyat al-Haiyawan, karangan Al-Damiri. Gambar ihsan Special Collections University of St Andrews. […]

    Reply
  • carpetmoss
    carpetmoss
    Thursday 24 April 2014, 5.42am

    Reblogged this on Krys Robertson and commented: I just this wonderful post about the "Book of Wonders" from the University of St Andrews. I love book illustrations - especially about scary monsters!

    Reply
  • Sukanya Deb
    Sukanya Deb
    Tuesday 23 August 2016, 8.19am

    These illustrations are absolutely amazing, thank you so much for putting them up! Out of curiosity, what are the other two manuscripts that possibly came from the same artist's workshop?

    Reply
    • St Andrews Special Collections
      St Andrews Special Collections
      Wednesday 24 August 2016, 2.06pm

      Thanks for your comment. It is good to hear you like our blog post. The 'Book of Wonders' featured in this blog is actually two works that are bound together in one manuscript volume. Maia proposes that the style of illustrations in both of the works perhaps suggests that both parts of the manuscript have come from the same artist's workshop. If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to send us an email at [email protected].

      Reply
  • Prof. dr. F.C.W. Doufikar-Aerts
    Prof. dr. F.C.W. Doufikar-Aerts
    Sunday 8 October 2017, 5.18pm

    L.S., A small comment to the first miniature. This is a charming depiction of the story of the dragon Tinnin, cunningly defeated by Alexander. The story first occurs in the Syriac Alexander Romance (in the translation by E.A. Wallis Budge, "The History of Alexander the Great, being the Syriac Version", Cambridge 1889, pp. 107-108). It has been translated into Arabic, in the ninth century, and it has been transmitted and reworked by many authors, among them Zakariya al-Qazwini (Aja'ib al-Makhluqat / Wonders of Creation). The above manuscript (with the miniature) is a translated, Persian, version of al-Qazwini's 'Wonders'. The miniature accurately shows the stages of the story, which can be surveyed as follows; The story in the Alexander Romance, which is excerpted by al-Qazwini, tells us that Alexander came into a mountainous region. The inhabitants warned him that he would not be able to cross the mountains, because the place was guarded by a dragon. Alexander observes the daily routine of the dragon and then decides to kill it. The people appease the tinnīn by providing it two oxen, for which it comes down to the river, each day, to devour them at the spot. First, Alexander starves the dragon out, by bringing it a calf instead. Then, he has two cowhides filled with arsenic ( zirnīkh), sulfur (kibrīt), oil (zayt), tar (qīr), all kinds of inflammable materials and sometimes also iron hooks (kalālīb ḥadīd, in Qazwini's edition by Wuestenfeld, 113) and gypsum (kils = lime stone) The next day, the ravenous dragon is offered this fake-food. He immediately swallows the imitation oxen, drinks water and this causes the dragon to explode.Alexander advices the people who ask him for help; the dragon is offered two cows each day, which he devours; the dragon is killed and lays down with his exploded belly. For the occurences of the tinnin in Arabic Alexander Romances, see F.C.W. Doufikar-Aerts, 'Alexander Magnus Arabicus. A Survey of the Alexander Tradition Through Seven Centuries, from Pseudo-Callisthenes to Ṣūrī, Mediaevalia Groningana 13 n.s., (Peeters Publishers) Louvain 2010. Yours sincerely, Faustina Doufikar-Aerts

    Reply
  • Surprising Islamic Manuscripts at St Andrews | Echoes from the Vault
    Thursday 1 November 2018, 10.28am

    […] including the beautiful royal Qur’an from the early Safavid era, ms19(o), the Book of Wonders, ms32(o), the Bustan of Sadi, ms31(o) and the Shah Namah, ms28(o). This project set out to discover what […]

    Reply
  • December 24 – Chimera | Echoes from the Vault
    Tuesday 24 December 2019, 11.00am

    […] composite Persian volume known as the Book of Wonders, deals with natural history and geography. It is made up of the ‘Seven Seas’ section of […]

    Reply

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