An Encyclopaedia, North India, 19th century and later, starting with...

An Encyclopaedia, North India, 19th century and later, starting with descriptions and illustrations of the constellations, including ‘rijal al-ghayb’, mystical beings arranged according to the four cardinal directions, and ending with a depiction of a multiheaded winged creature identified ‘al-ruh’ (‘the Spirit’), 8ff., Persian manuscript on paper, with numerous later illustrations added within the text, red morocco binding, folio 23.5 x 16cm. This concept of Ruh appears in the philosophical and mystical work of Ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 1240 AD) but it also features in the popular encyclopaedia of al-Qazwini (d. 1283 AD), Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existence (Kitab ‘aja’ib al-makhluqat). There it is described as the greatest of all angels. Although this manuscript is incomplete at beginning and end, the illustration of Angel Ruh may suggest that it is a copy of Qazwini’s ‘Aja’ib al-Makhluqat or a local Indian adaptation of it.