"The Tortoise", Folio from an `Aja'ib al-Makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) of Qazwini
second half 16th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
Page: H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm) W. 5 1/2 in. (14.6 x 14 cm) Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm) W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm) Frame: H. 21 3/4 in. (55.2 cm) W. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of George D. Pratt, 1935
Accession Number
45.174.17
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About the Artist
Zakaria bin Muhammad bin Mahmud Abu Yahya Qazwini · 1198–1283
Zakariya al-Qazwini (full name Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyāʾ ibn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd al-Qazwīnī), born around 1203 in Qazvin, Iran, belonged to a distinguished family of Muslim jurists descended from Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. In 1220, at about age 16 or 17, he fled the Mongol invasions led by Genghis Khan and settled in Mosul, where he spent two decades studying mathematics, astr...