The Wonders of Creation and the Singularities of Painting

A beautifully illustrated study of the so-called London Qazvini

The London Qazvini is an early fourteenth-century illustrated Arabic copy of al-Qazvini's The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existing Things. One of a handful of extant illustrated codices produced under the Mongols of Iran, this unique manuscript gathers earlier Mesopotamian painting traditions, North Jaziran-Seljuq elements, Anatolian inspiration, the latest changes brought about after the advent of Mongols and a large number of illustrations of extraordinary subjects which escape proper classification.

In this lavishly illustrated volume Stefano Carboni offers a stylistic analysis and discussion of the manuscript's miniatures, a presentation and description of the 368 extant paintings that illustrate the codex and a partial critical translation of the related Arabic text. This is the first time that sections throughout the whole text are available in English.

Stefano Carboni is the Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Western Australia and Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia. He is author and editor of several books including Glass from Islamic Lands. The Al-Sabah Collection (2001) and Venice and the Islamic World 828¿1797 (2007).

Cover image: The Planet Mercury, Fol. 8r; 87x165 mm, British Library

Cover design:

[EUP logo]
www.euppublishing.com