Ɵ Maqamat al-Hariri, manuscript on paper [Mamluk territories, second half of the thirteenth century]

Ɵ Abu Muhammad al-Qasim ibn Ali bin Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Hariri, known as 'al-Hariri of Basra', Maqamat al-Hariri (the Assemblies of al-Hariri), in Arabic, decorated manuscript on buff paper [Mamluk territories (probably Egypt), second half of the thirteenth century] single volume, 60 leaves, misbound and uncollatable, containing majority of anecdotes numbered 30-50 (of 50), single column, 15 lines elegant black thuluth with chapter headings in red, some ink annotations and marginalia from fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, some light water-staining to outer edges, a few leaves with edges repaired (not affecting main body of text), overall bright and presentable condition, 300 by 205 mm.; eighteenth-century leather-backed boards, covers stamped with circular motifs in Mamluk style, rebacked and outer edges repaired, covers slightly faded The Muqamat of al-Hariri is arguably the most treasured work of literature in the Arabic language after the Qur'an. The text consists of fifty literary and poetic anecdotes, endorsing Arabic proverbs, idioms and expressions, presented to the reader by Abu Zady al-Harith who is commonly interpreted as the narrator of the stories. The social history of the Maqamat is deeply rooted in oral traditions, with many anecdotes meant to be memorised and retold in large gatherings. The immediate popularity of the text meant that manuscript copies were commissioned all across the Islamic territories from Andalusia to Eastern Persia with translations into Turkish and Hebrew appearing in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as well. The rich imagery of the work also lead to the production of many illustrated manuscript copies, containing iconic illustrations of the famous scenes, and leaving an Arabic literary legacy comparable to that of the Shahnameh in Persian tradition. Al-Hariri of Basra (d. 1122) was a poet and government official based in the city of Basra in Seljuk Iraq. Although the concept of the 'muqama' had already been established by the twelfth century, al-Hariri elevated the existing form of Arabic literature, a literary genre combining rhymed prose with intervals of poetry, to a fine artform with his Muqamat. The present codex is a fine and early example of the text, containing almost half of the anecdotes, copied only about 150 years after the author's death. Very few early copies survive in book form, for another example see Sotheby's, 1 May 2001, Lot 12. For a leaf from an early illustrated Muqamat, see lot 28.