PRESE]YTIIVG THE MAIV(TSCRIPT

O. G. Bolshukov

THE ST. PETERSBURG MANUSCRIPT OF THE MAQÁMÁTBY AL.HARIRI AND ITS PLACE IN THE HISTORY oF ARAB PAINTING

Medieval Arab book miniatures have received significantlyless study than their Iranian counterparts. This is due botirto their brief history (from the end of the rwelfth to the mid-dle of the fourteenth century) and to the relatively smallnumber of surviving iilustrated manuscripts. Only a sinslework of Arab literature has reached ut in u iignincántquantity of illustrated manuscripts (13). This work, how-ever, allows us to trace the development of style and depic-tive technique on the basis of uniform subiect materiaÍ -the Maqàmal of al-HanrlI l]. These il luitrations, whichmake up more than half of the Arab miniatures which havereached us, represent at the same time the over.whelmingmajority of genre scenes.

Despite the long-standing and deserved attention theyhave received, no more than one hundred iliustrations to theMaqamat have been published (of the more than seven hun-dred), mainly in black-and-white reproductions [2]. Asidefiom mentions in general works on the historv of the arts.few specia l s tudies have appeared. a l l rev iewing indiv idualaspects of the illustrations.

The first, and thus far only study which covers the en_tirety of illustrations in the Maqamat is O. Grabar's mono-graph. It appeared in 1984 and contains in an appendix mi-crofiches of 732 miniatures from l2 manuscripts. which al-lows those unable to consult the manuscripts de vrsa betterto acquaint themselves with the material. The study byO. Grabar treats a number of historical issues raised by thedepictive language of the Maqamat's illustrators and the in-terrelation of various manuscripts.

In terms of iconography and chronology, the manu_scripts form two groups. The first includes six manuscriptsfrom the first half of the thirteenth cenfury. produced inBaghdad or the zone of its strong artistic infiuence; the sec-ond contains six manuscripts from the first half of the four-teenth century which originated in Syria and Egypt. Artisti_cally, the latter are a pale reflection of the early thirteenth_century Baghdad school and its traditions. Tirere are nolater manuscripts of the Maqamat of al-Harïrl with illustra_tions [3], which testifies to the total decline of Arab minia_ture painting. The reasons for this have not yet been con_vincingly explained. O. Grabar proposes ihat society'schanging tastes may explain this. As he puts it, ,,it wasa change in spirit, in the expectations of visually acquired

knowledge. Its full understanding awaits future investiga_tions in social and culfural history', [4].

This is a truly interesting question, the relevance ofwhich extends beyond the illustrations to the Maqamat.butwe are here concerned with a concrete probiem _ themechanisms in the copying process which impoverish theor ig inal image.

Most useful for our purposes are the three best illus_trated manuscripts Íïom the first group: arabe 5g47 from theBibliothèque Nationale de paris (henceforth _ p 5g47):Esad Efendi 2916 from the Siileymaniye Library in Isranbul(henceforth - St) and C 23 from the St. petersburs Branchof the Institute of Oriental Studies (hencefonf, _ pb).O. Grabar groups the latter two together, attributing them ioa single set in which "the setting plays a part equal to orgreater than the incidents of the story', [5]. In his view,however, their similarity is determined not by chronologicaiproximity but by their dependence on a single depiótiveprototype [6].

In the case of P 5847, we not only know the date of itscompletion down ro the day (6 Ramadàn $a13 May 1237),but also the name of the calligrapher and illustrator __Yahyà b. Mahmud b. Yahyá b. Abl-l-Hasan al_Wásiti. Sr isdated to the rule of the last ,Abbásid, al-Musta,sim ,:.242-�

1258) on the basis of a benevolent inscription with his nameon the frieze of a mosque depicted in illustration 4g to theMaqamdt (fol.204a). The presence of an analosous in_scription in P 5847 with the name of al-Mustansirl duringwhose rule (1226-1242) the manuscript was copied, relmoves all doubt that St could reproduce an inscription ona mosque which pre-dates the copy.

The dating of Pb is more difficult, as it lacks boththe beginning and the final folios, and the mosquesare depicted without epigraphic friezes. S. D. Rice.an expert in Arab miniatures, concluded on the basisof a comparison of illushations to the twelfth maqamain Pb and P 5847 that pb is older, but he did not sivean exact date [7]. Rice's view in this point is shared=byR. Ettinghausen [8].. Pb has badly suffered from the passage of time. More

than one eighth of the original folios are missing. Judgingby the paper and writing, the absent folios were rèplacà atleast four times. Two miniatures of fourteenth_ceniurv stvlewere added in the first restoration (perhaps there were more,

60 |íUonuscripto C)rientolio. vot-.3 No.4 DECEMBER 1ee7

Fig. I, a

but they have been lost). Later, folios were added withspace left on them for four miniatures. The last restorationis dated by European paper with a "thtee-crescents" water-mark. For a certain time before the first restoration, themanuscript was stored in a damp place, and many of theminiatures stuck to the surface of the facing page or, worseyet, to each other. When they were separated, some paintremained where it had stuck. Of the 96 remaining originalminiatures, nine were seriously damaged in this fashion. Fi-nally, one of the pious owners of the manuscript smearedthe paint on the faces with a moist hnger in order to destroythe sinful depictions, and another "finished them off' bycrossing out in ink the necks of people and animals.

Taking into account the number of replaced folios, onecan presume that Pb originally contained no less than 120miniatures, that is, more than the well-preserved P 5847.

St is even more seriously damaged: there are no un-harmed miniatures at all, and of the surviving 56 only 44 arediscernible.

There are only 25 intact miniatures which are shared byall three manuscripts. These miniatures allow us to juxta-

pose the treatment of the same thematic material by threeunquestionably talented and independent artists of the sameschool. For this aim, differences in the colour scheme arenot significant (all the more so, as the author of this articlewas compelled, in the overwhelming majority of cases, towork with black-and-white reproductions of the miniaturesfrom P 5847 and St). We also omit differences in the depic-tion of faces and clothing. For the purpose of our study dif-ferences in the level of detail and the composition of thescenes are of much more importance.

O. Grabar notes a similarity between Pb and St in anespecial fondness for depicting details and in an equally re-alistic, unstylized depiction of architecture. (However, noless common are cases of similar compositional decisions inP 5847 and St, which set them apart from Pb.) One can cite,for example, the depiction of a reception by the qadí Zabld(thirty-fourlh maqama) (Pb, p. 236; P 5847, fol.l07a; St,fol. 136b; seey'gs. 1a, b, c). The multi-f igured compositionof Pb in the detailed depiction of the architectural setting isin al-Wásiu reduced to the four figures of the main charac-ters: Abu Zayd, his son, whom he is attempting to sell by

Fig. I, b

Fig. 1, c

deception, al-Hárith (on the right) and the qadï - the ar-chitectural setting is absent. It is present in St, but the num-ber of figures is also reduced to four. The arrangement ofpersons in St is entirely different than in P 5847, but closerto Pb, if one views the composition from right to left. In thearchitecrural setting in St, somewhat simplified in compari-son to Pb, one should note two characteristic architecturaldetails: a closed balcony and the depiction of half of anarched entrance.

In another instance, we find a clear similarity befweenthe composition in P 5847 and St in the miniature whichdepicts the meeting of Ab[ Zayd and al-Hárith at the recep-tion of the governor of Merv in the thirty-eighth maqarna(Pb, p.256;P 5847, fo l . l lSa; St , fo l . 150b). As in the i l -lustrations to the thirty-fourth maqama, the complex multi-figured composition in the architectural setting in Pb(fi4. 2a) is reduced in P 5847 to five figures: the ruler on thethrone, Abl: Zayd and al-Hárith and fwo young male ser-vants (ghulam) at either side of the throne (ÍiS 2b); the ar-chitectural setting is absent. St copies this composition, butin ludicrously primitive form(fig. 2c).

o. BOLSHAKOY. The st. Petersburg Manuscript of the Moqdmiit by al-Hartrt 6 l

#d##Ë,i}Fig. 2, b

Fig. 2, a

An example of nearly complete compositional coinci-dence can be found in the illustrations to the fifteenthmaqama, which depict the arrival of Ab[ Zayd at the homeof al-Hárith (figs. 3a, á). The location of the entrance, theventilation system in the roof and even the depiction ofalarge vessel for water under the first flight of stairs(routine for Pb, but not found in P 5847) coincide here. Thearrangement of the rwo figures coincides as well.

The presence in many miniatures in St of compositionalsimilarities with P 5847 may indicate borrowings befweenthe fwo manuscripts, but is more likely an indication ofvarious forms of borrowing from general prototypes.

Such similarities are absent between Pb and p 5847,although they should be chronologically closer than pband St. The examples cited above demonstrate greatersimplicify in the depiction of thematic material in p 5847in comparison with Pb. But the differences in com-position are so great that one cannot speak of simpli-fication - they are simply different, and different through-out. Pb presents us with significantly more complex com-positions.

The clearest example of this is found in the illustrationsto the third moqdma, in which Abn Zayd holds forth beforea large gathering of admirers of rhetoric, at first praising,and later censuring in verse gold coin. In Pb (p. 17;fi7. 4a),Abn Zayd stands before forty listeners, arranged around areservoir; in P 5847 (fol.7a), the artist depicts only fivelisteners (íiS aD.

In some cases, a certain connection is visible befweenthese fwo manuscripts - for example, in the illustrations tothe fourth maqdma, which depict the appearance ofAbÍ Zayd at the caravan's halting place (pb, p.22,251' P 5847, fol. 9b). In the frst manuscript, two miniaturesare dedicated to this scene. One of them depicts thecarayan at rest. The depiction is three-tiered, divided byzigzag strips of grass. On the upper tier, six persons sit,lie and converse in various poses in tents, and onthe ground among saddles and packs; on the second tier,al-Hárith lies in a tent, propping himself on his hand;the lower tier shows two more tents, a camel-driver andsix camels in various poses (Plate 1).

Fig. 2, c

In the second miniature, which depicts Abii Zayd's arri-val, the action unfolds in fwo tiers; the artist has eliminatedthe third, lower tier as insignifrcant. Al-Hàrith, having heardAbtt Zayd, prepares to leave his tent and is putting on aboot. There is no doubt that the person lying in the tent inthe first miniature and the person putting on the boot are thesame person: the tent is drawn identically from the insideand the same large chest (?), which resembles a smallhouse, stands behind the tent.

P 5847 contains no analogue of the first miniature.There is only a small miniature with a two-tiered depictionof the sleeping caravan, which coincides in seneral with thecomposition of the second miniature. But ln place of thelively scene in Pb, we find a schematic representation: thereare no tents, five travelers sleep in the upper tier amongpacks, al-Hàrith sleeps in the lower right, as in pb, p.2í,and three camels lie to his \eft (fig. 5).

The simplified composition is not accompanied by acorresponding drop in the artistic level of the miniature: wesee the same sure lines and individuated faces. The core ofthe matter rests in a different conception of the necessarylevel of detail in the depiction.

Telling are the similarities and differences in the deoic-tion of a scene in the illustrations to the fifth maqama. inwhich AbD Zaydtells of his chance visit to the houie of hiswife, whom he had left. The existence of a general modelfor both al-Wasiti and the illustrator of pb is Éevond doubt.

iirv

62 f ionuscripto C)rientnlio. voI-. 3 No.4 DECEMBER 1ee7

Fig. 3, a

t * í r l rX . a.M ,r - .1

Fig. 3, b

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Fig. 4, a

as the central figure in both miniatures is a woman workinga spiruring-wheel. She is not mentioned in the text, and theobvious similarity befween the two miniatures can only beexplained by the presence of a single depictive prototype(fig. 6o, á, c). As usual, the illustrator of Pb provides a moredetailed depiction ofthe details (the fagade, the stairs to theroof, the vessel for water beneath it). Here also, as in thedepiction ofthe caravan at its halting place, he conveys theunfolding events with the help of a second miniature, inwhich a cat indicates the pace of movement. In the firstminiature, it lies peacefully to the right of the woman at thespinning-wheel; in the second, disturbed by the knock at thedoor, it has retreated to a different place (ÍiS 6b).In thisscene as well, al-Wasitl contents himself with a single illus-tration. Unfortunately, the illustration of this episode hasnot survived in St, where there is only a scene of AbDZayd's arrival at the house, where he tells of his meetingwith his son (fol. 14b).

It is mainly the unusual topics, the individuality ofwhich fades less with copying and reworking, which give usan opportunity to imagine with greater clarity the process ofchanges and degree to which various manuscripts are de-pendent on their protographs. Among these are the scene atthe cemetery (Pb, p. 65:- P 584'7, fol.29b; St, fol. 34a),boating on the Euphrates (Pb, pp. 135, 139; P 5847,fol.6la; St, fol. 73b), the theft in the caravan-saray (Pb,p. 196; P 5847, fol.89a; St, fol. 110a), the slave market

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Fig. 4, b

(Pb, p.231;P 5847, fo l . 105a; St , fo l . 134a), the ship (Pb,p.260; P 5847, fol. 119a; St. fol. 153a), and the scene inschool (Pb, p.318, see also the Plate on the back cover ofthe present issue; P 5847, fol. 148b; St, fol. l92a).

An analysis of all the preceding instances goes beyondthe parameters of this study; it is sufficient here to limit our-selves to the most telling example: the depiction of the ship.First, it has survived in all three manuscripts; and second,the substantial similarities ease our understandins of the dif-ferences and how they appeared.

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Fig. 6, b

Fig. 7, a

Fig. 7, c

64 fí[anuscripto C)rientnli i . vot-.3 No.4 DECEMBER leeT

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Fig. I

One notes first that in each of the miniatures, certaindetails link it with one, and others with another miniarure.Certain factors render Pb and St a pair; others, St andP 5847: a third set. Pb and P 5847. Pb and St are alike inthat the ship stands with its bow left to the shore, fromwhich Abii Zayd asks that they take him on board. Sailors(two in Pb, tkee in St) empty jugs of water from the holdout of the lower port-holes (or hatches), and something likea steering oar hangs to the right from the upper deck. Theydiffer in that St lacks the anchor which hangs from the bow-sprit in Pb; the latter lacks the sail on a short mastfound in St.

In P 5847, the ship sails to the right, and the shore andAbn Zayd are not depicted, although, as in Pb, there is ananchor, helm and the same curious implement hanging fromthe deck, and two sailors pouring out water (/ig. 7a, b, c).At the same time, P 5847 and St share certain details lack-ing in Pb: in the centre stands a mast with a basket in whicha scout sits; a second mast with a sail of most unusual formstands at the prow. There are other minor differences andsimilarities which are not important for our purposes.

All three miniatures contain certain perplexing details.Foremost, it is unclear why the ship which Abti Zayd isasking to board faces the shore with its prow rather than itsstern, or why the ship is depicted in Pb without mast or sail.Finally, if the long, hanging object is an oar, as it is de-picted in St, where the ship lacks a helm, then why is it de-picted (albeit, somewhat differently) in P 5847 and Pb,where the ship has a helm?

The miniature in Pb answers the last question -

the upper end of this mysterious object displays frac-tured wood which matches a similar fracture at the baseof the mast in the centre of the ship, around which liesa torn sail. Taken in conjunction with the sailors dumpingwater from the hold, this shows that the ship has re-cently weathered a storm. The lower part of the mast frag-ment, hanging down toward the water, in St is clearly of cy-lindrical form, unlike the scoop found in P 5847 and Pb. InSt, the illustrator has transformed the observation basketatop the broken mast into the blade of an oar; in accordancewith this interpretation, he equipped the broken end with anoar loom.

The nature of the similarities and differences does notpermit us to view the miniatures as successive stages in thedevelopment of a single composition. Clearly, we find here

Fig.9

a combination of two miniatures, one of which depicted thedeparture of the ship which Abii Zayd would like to board;the other depicted a storm-weathered ship approaching anunknown island. In combining these two depictions, theauthors of the manuscripts under consideration here, ormore likely their predecessors, borrowed various details,which led to differences between their miniatures. In thisscheme, the protofype of Pb and P 5847 was clearly closerto the original: one can still see in them the fracture at theend of the mast and the torn sail. Another minor detail con-firms this - the artists show the method of ship-building(ships on the Arabian sea were not constructed with nails orspikes, but held together with liana, resulting in smallcrosses along the seams which ran in horizontal lines alongthe side of the ship;these are clearly visible). Here, P 5847and St obviously show two varied re-workings of two de-pictions of the ship, as is indicated by the similar depictionsofthe palace on the island (P 5847, fol. l20a; St, fol. 154b).We do not know how this was depicted in Pb, as the neededminiafure has not survived.

Another locus of intersection between P 5847 and St isthe depiction of a settlement in the illustration to the forfy-third maqàma, where the resemblance covers not only thetype ofbuilding, but also a rooster on the roofin both cases(P 5847, fol. 178a; St, fol. 176a-176b).

In this instance, Pb proceeds along entirely differentlines. On page 293 (fiq. 8), we find an utterly differentcomposition: in the foreground, a group of men, to whomAbn Zayd is speaking; in the background, some sort ofpublic building which displays architecture unusual for theminiatures in Pb. We find a similar building in the illusha-tion to the forty-second maqama (fi4. 9), where the scenetakes place in the Yemeni city of Najrán [9]. The resem-blance is not coincidental, as the first miniature depictsevents in Tiháma, which is located close to Yemen. Perhapswe have here a very rare case where the artist wanted to addlocal colour. If so, the zebu, typical of Southern Arabia, isquite appropriate.

The depiction of these buildings reveals an unusual,note-worthy perspective: the top of the tower is shown asthough from birds-eye view, while on page 293, even theroof is visible (/iS I0).There are no analogues of this inArab miniatures, although such depictions are encounteredin Christian art. This perhaps explains the presence of theman on the roof, who holds something like a cross in his

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o. BOLSHAKOY. The st. Petersburg Manus*ipt of the Maqamil by al-Hartrt ó)

hand. Possibly, the artist recalled the Christian communityand church in Najrán and thus fixed the location of thêevent. If this is so, we have here an absolutely unioueinstance.

The analysis performed here of the treatment of identi_cal subject material in three manuscripts does not exhaustthe possibilities of comparative analysis, but permits thefollowing conclusions: (1) in the majority of cases, whenthe composition of the miniatures in p 5g47 and St coin_cides, it is somewhat simplified in the latter; (2) the samerelationship exists between Pb and p 5841 . We can con-clude from this that the frst of these is older and, con-sequently, that in the hrst half of the thirteenth century.as illustrations to the Maqdmat were repeated, the depió-tive content became more impoverished, although theartists in each case reproduced the subiect matter in theirown fashion.

This leads us to yet another conclusion: the cycle ofillustrations to al-HarlrÍs Maqdmat did nor aome to_gether gradually, but was created at a single time bva single very talented artist, who strove ó depict asfully as possible the environment in which thè heroof the Maqamat moved. The unusual nature of this cvcleand its artistic virtues immediately evoked imitatiáns,the level of which gradually fell. proof of this can be found

in the fact that Maqamatmatter and quite popular,talented initiator whosefor imitations.

Fig. 10

of al-HamdánÏ, similar in subjectwere not illustrated: there was nowork could serve as the basis

N o t e s

1 These were described by o. Grabar inhis The lllustratíons of the Maqamal (Chicago, 1984), pp. g-19. one of these, found rn thelibrary of the main mosque of San'á, is very late (Safar 1121 lApril tz03), and in style shóuld be attributed to the Moghul school. Duringa very brief visit to the university of al-'Ayn (Abu Dhábi) in January 1990, I found in the catalogue mention of an illustrated manuscrrptof the Maqamar without a date. Unfortunately, I rvas unable to see it, as the employees of the library told me that it was impossible to findthe manuscript because of renovations. It is therefore difficult to say uhether the manuscript at;l-,Ayn is a new, unknown copy or amanuscript bought in San'á.2' K Holter, "Die Galenhandschrift und die Makamen des Hanri der wiener Nationalbibliothek", Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen

sammlungen in l4/íen, sonderheft Nr. 104 (1937), pp. 1-48. All illustrations published. Also o. Grabar, ,.A newly discovered, illustratedmanuscr iptof theMaqamàrbyal -HarTr Í ' ,Arsor íenta l is ,5(1963), pp.97,109,p lates l -24.Fi f ty- f iveminiaturesfromp5g4Tarepub-lished in 'Isá salmán, Al-Iltasítí Yahya bin Mahmud bín Yahyà rassdm wa-khattàt wa-mudha'hhab wa-muzakhraf (Baghdad, l97z).R Ettinghausen published colour reproductions: one miniature from the manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale de paris 6094, one from3920, six from Pb, seven from P 5847, and one from a manuscript in vienna. See R. Ettingh ausen, Arab painting(Geneva, 1962).

3' The latest manuscript in San'à (see note l) has not relation to the Baghdad manuscript or to the Arab school of miniatures as awhole (Grabar, The lllustrations, pp. 16-�7).4. Grabar, The lllustrations. p. 152.5. Ibíd., p. 132.6. Ibíd. .7' See S. D. Rice, "The oldest illustrated Arabic manuscript", BSol.l, XXII (1959), pp.207-20; D. James, ,,Space-forms in thework of Baghdad Maqamat illustrators. 1225-58", BS)AS, xxxvll (197a), pp. 305-20.8. Ettinghausen, op. cit. , p. 105 .9. O. Grabar believes it not to be a building but the depiction of Najràn (Grabar, The lllustrations. p.92\.

I l l u s t r a t i o n s

Froní cover:

"Ab[[ Zayd and al-Hárith talking". Fragment of a miniature from manuscript pb of the Maqamatby al-HarïrI Qnaqama 50), p. 3a9, 17.5 x 9.0 cm

Back cover:

"Ab[ Zayd as a teacher in a school at Hims". A miniature from manuscri ptpb (naqama 46),p . 3 1 8 , 1 8 . 0 x 1 9 . 5 c m .

66 f íUanuscripto ()t iental io. vol-.3 No.4 DECEMBER 1ee7

Fig.

Inside:

Plate l . "Caravan at rest". Miniature from manuscripÍPb (maqáma 4),p.22,20.0x 19.2 cm (see p. 53 of

the present issue).

Pfate 2. "The appearance of Ab[ Zayd at the caravan's halting place". Miniature from manuscript Pb

(maqama \, p. 25, 19.0 x 13.8 cm (see p. 56 ofthe present issue).

Fig. 1. "The qadï of Zabld receiving Abn Zayd and his son". Illustration Ío maqama 34"

c - manuscript Pb, p.236, 18.0x l5.0cm; ó - manuscript P5847, fol.107a; c - manuscript St,

fol. 150b.2, "Abu Zayd and the governor of Merv". Illustration to maqama 38:

a-manuscript Pb, p.250, 18.0 x 17.7 cm; b - manuscript P 5847, fol. 118a; c - manuscript St,

fol. 150b.

3. "Abu Zayd at the home of al-Hárith". Illustration to maqama 15'.

a - manuscript Pb, p. 94, 16.8 x 13,4 cm, á - manuscript St, fol. 47a.

4. "Abrl Zayd reciting verses in praise of gold coin". Illustration ïo maqama 3'.

a - manuscript Pb, p. 17, 18 5 x 13.0 cm; ó - manuscript P 5847, fol. 7a.

5. "Caravan at rest". Illustration to maqáma 4, manuscript P 5847, fol. 9b.

6. "Abu Zayd's unexpected visit to his rvife's house". Illustration Ïo maqama 5'.

a - m a n u s c r i p t P b , p . 3 0 , i 8 . 0 x 1 4 . 0 c m ; b - m a n u s c r i p t P b , p . 3 2 , 1 7 5 x 1 3 , 8 c m ; c - m a n u s c r i p t

P 5847, fol. 13b.

Fig. 7. "The sea-craft". Illustration Ío maqàma39'.

a - manuscr ip t Pb, p .260,20 .0x 15 .0cm; ó - manuscr ip t P5847, fo l . l l 9b ; c - manuscr ip t S t ,

f o l . 1 5 3 a .

Fig. 8. "Abu Zayd and al-Harith meeting a rvell-spoken boy in Tihama". Illustration Ío maqama 43,

manuscr ip t Pb. p . 293. 2 l .0 > 18 .2 cm.

Fig. 9. "AbnZayd standing before a learned man in Najrán". Illustration to maqdma 42, manuscript Pb,

p. 278, 19.4 x I 5.0 cm.

Fig. 10. "AbrI Zayd standing before a learned man in Najrán". Illustration to maqáma 42, manuscript Pb,

p .283, 17 .5 x 15 .5 cm.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig'

Fig.

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56 Prnp.2 - O. BOLSHAKOV. Trn Sr, PlrsnsnuRc M.qluscnrpr oF n+r MÁeÁMÀr By AL-HARIRi

d ! ' l' t ) lfwljl$

Plate l

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCESTHE INSTITUTE OF OzuENTAL STUDIES

ST. PETERSBIIRG BRANCH

rybo,nqscui pta Ori e ntolioJntecnationol ./ouynol foc ()dentol fionÍrscript eeseoccll

Vol.3 No. 4 December 1997

7,5e.s.c4..Jt. p etersbu rg-r$ eJsinki

CONTENTS

TEXTS A]{D MAI{USCMPTS.. DESCNPTIOA{ A]{D RESEARCH.

S. Levitt. Sinhalese Painted Wooden Bookcovers

T. Sultanov. Turkic Versions of the Taríkh-i Rashidt in the Manuscript Collection of the St. Petersburg Branch

of the Institute of Oriental Studies

Vladimir polosin. Two Late Eighteenth-Cenrury ottoman Fiscal Documents from the Manuscript Collection of

the St. Petersburg Branch of the Instirute of Orientai Studies '

TEXT A]'{D ITS CULTURAL INTERPRETATIO]{ , , ,

E. Rezvan. The eur'án and Its World: IV. "Raise Not Your Voices above the Prophet's Voice" (Sociefy, Power

and Etiquelle Norms) .

P RESENTING THE COLLECTIO]{S

T. Deryagina, O. Frolova. Antoni Muchliíski and His Collection of Arabic Manuscripts in the St. Petersburg

University Library

3

3

1 1

3 0

3 5

3 5

4 )

ONENTAL MAI,{USCMPTS A]{D I{E

M. Carter. The Platonic Edition: Some Conseq

W II,IFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

uences of Computer Editing for Text-Based Scholarship in

Arabic Grammar

P RESE]{TI]V G THE MAAITJSC NP T

O. Bolshakov. The St. Petersburg Manuscript of the MaqamdÍby al-Harttt and Its Place in the History of Arab

D o i n f i n oI 4 l l l l r r r é . . ' .

BOOK REVIEWS

Manuscripta orientulia in 1997, vol. 3, Nos. 1-4 ( list of contributions) .

\ ]

5 9

i \ )

10

F r o n t c o v e r :

*AbíZaydand al-$árith talking". Fragnent of a miniature-from manuscript C 23.of th e Maqdmdtby al-Har-uÏin the collection of tne Ét. Petersburg Branch of the lnstitute of Oriental Srudies.

Illustration to maqdma 50. p. 349, l7'5 x 9'0 cm'

B a c k c o v e r :

,,AbíZaydas a teacher in a school at f{img". A miniature from manuscript C23 of the Maqdmdtby al-Harlrrin the collection of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Instirute of Oriental Studies.

Illustration to maqdia 46. p' 318. 18.0 x l9'5 cm'