The Frontispiece as Patron’s Statement: Re-Examining and Contextualizing the 686/1287 Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ from Early Ilkhanid Baghdad (MS Istanbul, Süleymaniye, Esad Efendi 3638)

Veröffentlichungen: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelPeer Reviewed

Abstract

The Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-ṣafāʾ wa-khullān al-wafāʾ (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends), copied in Baghdad in 686/1287 and kept in the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, is known for its double page frontispiece, headed by the names of the authors and the book title, and painted with an image of debating scholars surrounded by luxurious architecture [Fig. 1]. The copy, whose text also features diagrams and tables, is of interest for the study of medieval manuscript traditions of the Rasāʾil. This article re-examines the codex, expanding observations and insights into its history. It discusses the function of the frontispiece, unique among known Rasāil copies, which is commonly perceived as an authors’ portrait in the succession of pre-Mongol Arab book painting. Reviewing the text on the double page and mindful that the Rasāʾil was an anonymous book, it becomes clear that the frontispiece advertised a particular opinion and reference regarding the authorship, which is illustrated and given significance by means of a figural image. The copy, which acknowledges the unknown patron who supported this editorial statement, is situated historically in the scholarly book production of Baghdad under governors from early Ilkhanid Iran. A further function of the frontispiece image, as a reference to the patron and his milieu, transpires when examining the visual setting of the assembled authors. While the iconography of one figure evokes a maker or the patron of the copy, another figure suggests that some faces may have been likened to members of the Juwaynī family of Persian governors. These functions, the possible use of crypto-portraits, and the extended narrative of the image, depart from earlier models of author portraits in Arabic books and locate the copy much more firmly in a specific time and place.
Keywords: Arab and Persian manuscript
OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)21-53
Seitenumfang33
FachzeitschriftJournal of Islamic Manuscripts
Jahrgang15
Ausgabenummer1
Frühes Online-Datum19 Dez. 2023
DOIs
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 2 Jan. 2024

ÖFOS 2012

  • 602009 Arabistik
  • 602019 Iranistik
  • 604019 Kunstgeschichte
  • 602037 Orientalistik

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