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Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Tahrir kitab al-kura wa'l-ustuwanali Arshimidis ('Sphere and Cylinder', a commentary on geometry), and Maqalah fi taksir al-kura li Arshimides (a treatise on measuring the sphere), Persia, Timurid, 15th century
Description
- bound paper book
Provenance
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Rosenthal and Ihsanoglu list other copies of this work in various libraries including Berlin, Florence, Rampur, Manchester, London, Mashhad and Paris, see Mathematicians, Astronomers & Other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and their Works (7th-19th c.), Istanbul, 2003, pp. 211-219, no 606, M4.
See also A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 1934, p.550, no.350. where the author states that “the editor, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, informs us in the preface that the version which he used was revised by Thabet Ibn Qurrah who died in 901 AD, and was first translated by Hunayn Ibn Ishaq Hunayn who died in 873 AD, while his researches were facilitated by the commentary of Eutocius of Ascalon. The work has two maqalahs”. This information also appears in the preface of the present manuscript.
The great scholar and polymath Nasr al-Din al-Tusi (1201-74 AD) was responsible for editions of most of the Greek astronomical and mathematical works that had been translated into Arabic in the eighth-tenth centuries. His enormous output in such editions or recensions was almost matched by his own independent works on those subjects.