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Folios from a Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita)

Title	Folios from a Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita)
Publication Date:	1650-1700
Type	Document
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	240 mm x 159 mm x 6 mm (height x width x depth)
Library:	Chester Beatty
Record ID	Per 263
Library Location	Persian collection
Date	1650-1700
Notes	Folios from a Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita). These loosely bound folios may have been intended for a copy of al-Sufi's well-known Book of the Constellations: each page features a single painting of a classical constellation figure, such as Cassiopeia or Pegasus. The same figure is then repeated on the reverse side of each folio, shown in mirror image. This shows the constellation first as it appears in the sky, and then as it appears on a celestial globe. The stars are painted as gold circles, but there are no captions, labels or text. Later copies of this work are often organised in this way, showing that the painter and the scribe worked separately. Normally, these illustrated folios would next be added into a manuscript, and inserted into the correct chapters to complete the treatise. Codex, 22 folios, colours and gold on paper, 22 constellation figures, no text or labels, probably produced for insertion into a copy of the Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita) by `Abd al-Raḥmān ibn `Umar al-Ṣūfī (Rayy 903- 986 Baghdad), unsigned, possibly Isfahan, Iran, c. 1650-1700.
Materyal	Paper (material), Pigment (material), Gold
Nesne Adı	Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)

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Chester Beatty

Folios from a Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita)

Publication Date 1650-1700

Type Document

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 240 mm x 159 mm x 6 mm (height x width x depth)

Library Chester Beatty

Record ID Per 263

Library Location Persian collection

Date 1650-1700

Notes Folios from a Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita). These loosely bound folios may have been intended for a copy of al-Sufi's well-known Book of the Constellations: each page features a single painting of a classical constellation figure, such as Cassiopeia or Pegasus. The same figure is then repeated on the reverse side of each folio, shown in mirror image. This shows the constellation first as it appears in the sky, and then as it appears on a celestial globe. The stars are painted as gold circles, but there are no captions, labels or text. Later copies of this work are often organised in this way, showing that the painter and the scribe worked separately. Normally, these illustrated folios would next be added into a manuscript, and inserted into the correct chapters to complete the treatise. Codex, 22 folios, colours and gold on paper, 22 constellation figures, no text or labels, probably produced for insertion into a copy of the Book of Constellations (Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābita) by `Abd al-Raḥmān ibn `Umar al-Ṣūfī (Rayy 903- 986 Baghdad), unsigned, possibly Isfahan, Iran, c. 1650-1700.

Materyal Paper (material), Pigment (material), Gold

Nesne Adı Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)