Maqamat Al-Hariri, illustrated by Y. Al-Wasiti; introduction by Oleg Grabar
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Facsimile reproduction of Bibliotheque Nationale de France manuscript "Ms Arabe 5847", accompanied by an introductory volume.
"A single and unrepeatable, limited edition of 2000 numbered copies in Arabic numerals ... This same edition includes 200 copies in Roman numerals ..."--T.p. verso.
Al-Maqamat is the title of a book written by al-Hariri (1054-1122) and illustrated by Y. al-Wasiti. Containing fifty short stories (maquamat means "sessions" or "settings"), it is considered to be one of the greatest Arabic illuminated manuscripts of all time. Unusual meanings of words, creative grammatical constructions and double and triple puns are employed to exhibit the astounding complexity of the Arabic language. Hundreds of copies from the original manuscript of Hariri have remained from the thirteenth and later centuries.
The manuscript survives with 99 miniatures (this birth image is quite extraordinary for its depiction of a woman in childbirth). Miniatures from this manuscript have been praised for their realism in depicting aspects of Islmaic, and especially Arab, history and culture.
The two male figures seen in the top corners of the painting are the main protagonists in the Maqamat. They are creating a horoscope for the newborn child (natal astrology). The astrolabe is being employed to plot the positions of the sun, moon, and astrological houses at the time of birth.