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 naskh script 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.
This folio is from a dispersed Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa-Gharaib al-Mawjudat produced in Bijapur in circa 1571-1575 during the reign of Sultan Ali Adil Shah I (r. 1558-1580). Other folios are in the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.455), Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, Hyderabad (76.402 D1), State Museum, Hyderabad (80-7 and 86-10), and private collections.
Recto: A Winged Feline, representing an indeterminate heaven, and a Bull representing the angels of the first heaven led by Ismail.
Verso: Two Winged Angels, representing an indeterminate heaven, who appear to be battling.
(Translation by Z. A. Desai.)
