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Kamal al-Din al-Farisi (d.1320 AD), Kitab tanqih al-manazir li dhawi al-absar wa’l-basair ('Book of Correction of Optics for those who have Sight and Mind'), Persia, Timurid, dated 899 AH/1494 AD
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description
- ink on paper - bound manuscript
Arabic manuscript on paper, 99 leaves, 25 lines to the page, written in naskh script in black ink, important words picked up in red, few geometrical diagrams throughout, f.21a, 38b and 39a with 3 medical diagrams representing the eyes and their structure, in later brown leather binding
Condition
In generally good condition, the margins are overall clean, with only minor comments throughout, the pages tears affecting mainly the lower side, stains, and smudges, as viewed.
"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."
"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
This rare volume presents an abridgment of several treatises connected with optics and the physics of the eye. In this work al-Farisi, pupil of the mathematician and physicist Qutb al-Din Shirazi (himself a pupil of the polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi), revised the 'Book on Optics' (Kitab al-manazir) of the great mathematician, astronomer, physicist and founder of experimental science Al-Hasan ibn Haytham (965-1041 AD), one of the leading Arabic scholars in the study of optics, known in medieval Europe by the Latin name 'Alhzen'.
Copies of this work can to be found in libraries in Cairo, Istanbul, Leiden, St. Petersburg and Tehran (see B.A. Rosenfeld – E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematicians, Astronomers & Other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and their Works (7th – 19th C.), Istanbul, 2003, p.236, no.674. See also Brockelmann S.I. p.853; S.II. p.295).
Copies of this work can to be found in libraries in Cairo, Istanbul, Leiden, St. Petersburg and Tehran (see B.A. Rosenfeld – E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematicians, Astronomers & Other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and their Works (7th – 19th C.), Istanbul, 2003, p.236, no.674. See also Brockelmann S.I. p.853; S.II. p.295).