Wonders of Creation

Description Walters manuscript W.593 is an illuminated and illustrated copy of a Persian version of the famous 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of creation) by Zakariya' al-Qazwini (died 682 AH/AD 1283), composed by Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Tusi (active 6th century AH/AD 12th). The text, in black Nasta'liq script, may have been written by an Iranian scribe in the 10th century AH/AD 16th in Ottoman Turkey. It opens with an illuminated medallion inscribed with the author's name (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a). The text is illustrated with 181 paintings of different sizes that offer an interesting iconography for Tusi manuscripts. The red leather binding is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the 13th century AH/AD 19th.

Exhibitions

• A Salute to the Aquarium. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1981.
• Expanding World Views: A Millennium of Maps. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2001-2002.
• Maps: Finding Our Place in the World. The Field Museum, Chicago; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2007-2008.
• Beasts on Parchment: Picturing Animals in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2010-2011.
• Mirror of Time: The Moon in Islamic Art and Culture (WT). Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. 2019.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [ex libris on upper board inside]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters