AN ISLAMIC MANSCRIPT IN SCIENCE OF ARITHMETIC AND ALGEBRA, 9...

Hammer

£1,100

AN ISLAMIC MANSCRIPT IN SCIENCE OF ARITHMETIC AND ALGEBRA, 993 AH - 1584–1585 A.D.

This handwritten Arabic manuscript is a copy of Kitab al-Mubdi Mukhtasar Kitab al-Mauna fi ilm al-hisab wa-l-jabr (The Innovative Book, an Abridgement of the Book of Assistance in the Science of Arithmetic and Algebra), a mathematical treatise by the medieval scholar Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Haim al-Maqdisi (d. 1412). The work is an octavo-sized codex bound in dark brown leather. The binding features a central blind-stamped mandorla with floral arabesque motifs and simple blind-ruled borders. The text is executed in a clear Naskh script in black ink, with section headings and key mathematical terms rubricated in red. The title page contains a multi-line inscription in red and black ink identifying the work and author. Notably, the title page includes a note of ownership or patronage by Amat Allah al-Aziz Ghusun bint ahmad bin abdulrahman  bin ali al-Hashemi al-Uqayli, who is identified as al-Makkiyya (of Mecca). The final pages contain a colophon area bearing the Hijri date 993, corresponding to approximately 1584–1585 A.D. 

21.5 x 15.5cm