Taqi al-Din ibn al-Ma'ruf, Al-Kawakib al-Durriyya fi wadh' al-Bankamat al-Dawriyya, in Arabic, illuminated manuscript on polished paper [probably Ottoman Turkey, mid-nineteenth century]

Taqi al-Din ibn al-Ma'ruf, Al-Kawakib al-Durriyya fi wadh' al-Bankamat al-Dawriyya, in Arabic, illuminated manuscript on polished paper [probably Ottoman Turkey, mid-nineteenth century]

54 leaves, including 3 blank endpapers, complete, catch-words throughout, single column, 12-13 lines black nasta'liq per page, a few words highlighted in red, opening to text with gold and polychrome heading, opening two leaves ruled in gilt, 52 pages illustrated with diagrams of horological fittings, two leaves skilfully repaired along old tears, else excellent condition internally, 242 by 170mm.; contemporary limp leather, spine cracked with slight loss, covered rubbed, gatherings loose in binding with a few becoming loose, edges gilt

An important Arabic translation of the first and only work in the Islamic world dedicated to mechanical automated clocks, first compiled in 1559 AD by Ottoman astronomer Taqi al-Din ibn Ma'ruf (d. 1585 AD). Taqi al-Din invented the turn-split, used in steam engines, popularised decimal fractions, used mechanical clocks for observations and wrote the last authoritative text on optics in the Islamic world. He was also known for correcting and completing Ulugh Beg's Zij and is referenced in Katib Celebi's Kashf al-Zunun.

The introduction of this work praises Samiz Ali Pasha (Grand Visier of the Ottoman Empire between 1561 and 1566) for allowing Taqi al-Din access to their personal private library and collection of European mechanical clocks, which were used to compile this text. The introduction also includes a dedication to Suleyman I, reigning Ottoman Sultan at the time of composition. The inclusion of both of these dedications in this nineteenth-century translation strongly indicates that the text was translated from an original source, and that copied during the reign of Suleyman I (d. 1566).

The text is exceptionally rare. A tiny handful can be traced in institutional ownership, and no copies are recorded on the open market at all. Taqi al-Din famously constructed the first conservatory in Istanbul but after falling out of favour with Sultan Murad III, this institution was closed and his library and private papers cast out. By happy chance they made their way through an improperly understood route to Leiden University by the seventeenth century, where they remain today. This fact explains their exceptional rarity in the Islamic world, in that few manuscripts remained there for future generations. This manuscript, even though an Arabic translation, is one of those original descendants of copies distributed by the author.

Ɵ - The lot is subject to buyer’s premium of 25% exclusive of VAT (0% VAT)