painting
- Museum number
- 1948,1211,0.3
- Description
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Emblems/painting of the four Evangelists, from an Ajaib al-Makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) of al-Qazvini. An angel stands on top of a tiger (transformed from a lion) to the left, while an eagle and bull seemingly float to the right. Void background. No text. Opaque watercolour and ink on paper.
- Production date
- 16thC (AH 680)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 16.20 centimetres (sheet)
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Width: 13.20 centimetres (sheet)
- Curator's comments
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The popular Wonders of Creation of al-Qazvini, written in 1281, included a great range of 'scientific' information. The eagle in the lower right corner symbolises St. John the Evangelist. The sizable Christian communities living in the Muslim world ensured the inclusion of such symbols in this encyclopaedic book.
To judge from the number of manuscripts and isolated pages extant, Qazwini's 'Wonders of Creation' was a best seller in the 14th century. The illustration follows the Egypto-Syrian pictorial tradition: the earliest illustrated manuscript in Persian (787/1388) follows a different tradtition and is perhaps influenced by Italian manuscript illustration. The text and illustrations are a compound of 'natural' history, continuing the Aristotelian tradtition, traveller's tales, myth, superstition, legend or narrative from Quranic tradition (Hadith) or the Old Testament. The four figures indeed relate to the Four Evangelists, but the Apocalypse of St. John, from which they come, derives their forms from the Four Living Creatures holding up the throne of God described in the vision of the Prophet Ezechiel. They re-appear, probably drawn from the Old TEstament or the Midrash, if not Muslim tradition, rather than from the New Testament, in Muslim accounts of the Ascension of Muhammad (the Mi'raj), the popularity of which grew markedly in te 14th century. This doubtless explains their inclusion in illustrations of 'The Wonders of Creation'. The knotted taild fo the bull (here a zebu) is a reminiscence of star-pictures of the constellation Taurus (there is no obvious reason why it should be dappled), and the lion has mysteriously become a tiger. The angel trampling it has no symbolic significance: its appearance is merely the result of bad composition.
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Emblems of the four Evangelists, from an Ajaib al-Makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) of al-Qazvini
Iran, 16th Century
Opaque watercolour on paper
The popular Wonders of Creation of al-Qazvini, written in 1281, included a great range of 'scientific' information. The eagle in the lower right corner symbolizes St John the Evangelist. The sizable Christian communities living in the Muslim world ensured the inclusion of such symbols in this encyclopedic book.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2001, British Museum, Addis Gallery, Birds in Islamic Paintings
1977 London, BM, Animals in Art
- Acquisition date
- 1948
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- 1948,1211,0.3