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Important agronomic compendium copied for the library of the…
See original version (French)
36
-
Important agronomic compendium copied for the library of the…
See original version (French)
Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Important agronomic compendium copied for the library of the Zaydite imam al-Mutahhar
Yemen, Zaydite imamate, late 16th century
Arabic manuscript on laid paper, 56 leaves calligraphied in naskh legible in black ink at around twenty lines per page, with titles, months and plant designations highlighted in red; numerous marginal annotations. Bound in modern stamped brown morocco.
Condition: wear, stains, restorations, old annotations.
Size: 30 × 20.5 cm (11.8 × 8.1 in.)
Contents - two Arabic agronomic treatises :
Milh al-malaha fi ma'rifat al-filaha by the Rasulid sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf 'Umar b. Yusuf (d. AH 696 / 1297) - a major treatise on medieval Yemeni agronomy, of which only four copies are known to exist. The present copy is the fifth known reference and, to our knowledge, the only one to include the last two complete chapters.
An abridgement (mukhtasar) of the Greek agronomic treatise attributed to Vindonius Anatolius (4th-5th century, Byzantium), known to date only from two Iranian copies preserved in Tehran (Scardino 2015). The present manuscript thus constitutes a third witness to this rare Greek-Arabic transmission route.
The dedication on the title page identifies the patron as the Zaydi imam al-Mutahhar (d. AH 980 / 1572-73), son and successor of Yahya Sharaf al-Din, a major figure in the Zaydi resistance to the Ottoman occupation of Yemen.
Provenance :
Former François Antonovich collection (1934-2023), Parisian antique dealer and collector.
The full scientific note - details of the texts, transcribed dedication, comparable works, bibliography and detailed historical commentary - can be consulted in the PDF catalogue accompanying this lot, available on request from the department.
We would like to thank Daniel Varisco, an anthropologist and historian specialising in Rasulid Yemen and the history of Yemeni agriculture, for his comments on this manuscript.
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An important Yemeni agricultural compendium copied for the library of the Zaydi imam al-Mutahhar (d. 980 H. / 1572-73), Yemen, Zaydi imamate, late 16th century
Arabic manuscript on laid paper, 56 leaves in legible naskh in black ink with red rubrications and marginal annotations; modern brown stamped morocco binding. Wear, staining and restorations. 30 × 20.5 cm (11.8 × 8.1 in.).
Contents - two Arabic agricultural treatises
The Milh al-malaha fi ma'rifat al-filaha of the Rasulid sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf 'Umar b. Yusuf (d. 696 H. / 1297) - a major work of medieval Yemeni agronomy. Only four copies are recorded in modern scholarship; the present manuscript constitutes the fifth known copy and, to our knowledge, the only one to include the last two chapters in full.
An abridgement (mukhtasar) of the Greek agronomic treatise attributed to Vindonius Anatolius (4th-5th century, Byzantium), known until now from only two Iranian copies preserved in Tehran (Scardino 2015). The present manuscript thus constitutes a third witness to this rare Greco-Arabic transmission route.
The dedication on the title page identifies the patron as the Zaydi imam al-Mutahhar (d. 980 H. / 1572-73), son and successor of Yahya Sharaf al-Din, a leading figure of Zaydi resistance against the Ottoman occupation of Yemen.
Provenance:
Former collection of François Antonovich (1934-2023), Parisian antique dealer and collector.
We are grateful to Dr Daniel Varisco, anthropologist and historian specialising in Rasulid Yemen and the history of Yemeni agriculture, for his observations on this manuscript.
⚠ The full scholarly notice - including the detailed contents, transcribed dedication, comparable works, bibliography and developed historical commentary - is provided in the PDF accompanying this lot, available on request from the department.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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