Author
Al-Jazari (died 1206)
Author Original
الجزري توفي
Publication Date
1354
Publication Place
Cairo, Egypt -
Aga Khan Museum
Subject
Opaque watercolour, ink and silver on paper
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
27.3 × 39.1 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
AKM11
Record ID
object;EPM;ca;Mus21;13;ar
Library Location
Aga Khan Museum
Date
1354
Notes
This plate comes from a popular treatise on mechanical devices and automated systems written in 1206 and copied constantly in the following centuries. Al-Jazari, the author of the treatise called The Book of Precious Tricks, described more than a hundred devices in his treatise, and one of these devices is seen here. This wonderful device is based on two scientific ideas: bloodletting as a medical treatment and the use of simple machines to form a complex mechanical assembly and treat various diseases. Bloodletting was common until the nineteenth century, something that clearly did not require such a complex device. Here the patient places his injured finger into a hole in a basin. The blood flows through channels to the lower chamber, which mixes a floating weight. The floating weight is connected at one end to a rod, which at the other end is connected to a pen in the writer’s hand on the upper left side. When the blood level in the pelvis rises, it pushes the floating weight up, moves the writer's pen, and makes marks on his writing board.
Sample Text
“The Blood Measuring Device (The Book of Precious Tricks) The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices” within Discover the Collections of Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;ca;Mus21;13;ar
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MWNF Working Number: CA1 13
