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Collections

Unknown
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-Qazwinicirca 1570

Not on view
Illustrated manuscript page with Arabic script, showing a blue winged horse galloping above a reclining human figure merging into a patterned textile form

Unknown, Winged Horse and Angel; Folio from a manuscript of Al-Qazwini's Ajaib Al-Makhluqat (Wonders of Creation), circa 1570, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Unknown
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
Place Made
India, Karnataka, Bijapur
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)
Credit Line
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number
M.73.5.585a-b
Classification
Manuscripts
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.