- Title
- Winged Horse and Angel (recto), Pairs of Hawks and Vultures (verso), Folio from an Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa-Gharaib al-Mawjudat (Wonders of Creation and Oddities of Existence) by al-Qazwini
- Date Made
- circa 1570
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.94 x 21.59 cm); Image: 9 11/16 x 7 5/16 in. (24.61 x 18.57 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.73.5.585a-b
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
The Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa-Gharaib al-Mawjudat (Wonders of Creation and Oddities of Existence) is a cosmographical and geographical treatise written in Arabic in 1279-1280 by Zakariyya' al-Qazwini (1203-1283), who was born in Qazvin, Iran. It consists of two volumes: the celestial spheres, including a discussion of chronology, planets, constellations, zodiac, and heavenly inhabitants such as angels and demons; and terrestrial phenomena, including the four elements, geography, the animal kingdom, botany, minerology, and the nature of mankind.
Recto: A Winged Horse (salsail) and a supine Angel or peri (hur) representing the angels of the fourth and fifth heavens led by Sasail and Kalkail respectively.
Verso: Pairs of Hawks (uqab) and Vultures (nasr) representing the angels of the second and third heavens led by respectively.
(Translation by Z. A. Desai.)
- Selected Bibliography
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
- Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
