2-738-846 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Qualities of Ringdoves (recto) from a Manafi al-Hayawan (On the Usefulness of Animals) of Ibn Bakhtishu (d. 1058), c. 1300. This small illustration of ringdoves in the tree trunk and lotus blossom incorporates the influence of Chinese naturalism. In contrast, the reverse side is more traditional. The innovative page layouts feature cursive nashki script with bold angular kufic script headings. Derived from Aristotelian sources, this treatise deals with the physical characteristics and organs of animals. The text was translated into Persian from Arabic for the Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan (reigned 1295-1304). Roughly a dozen pages from this long-lost manuscript are known. It is dated by comparison with a similar manuscript made at Maragha, near Tabriz, in 1297 or 1299.