Wednesday 30 July 2008

snakes & a flame.......




The 'Kitab al-Bulhan' (Book of Wonders) [MS. Bodl. Or. 133] manuscript is a collection of Arabic divinatory treatises produced in the late 14th century hosted by the Oxford Digital Library.There are approximately 80 illustrations among the astrological, astronomical and geomantic texts in the ~180pp manuscript. Many of the pages without illustrations have patterned arrangements of the text. This is at first glance a truly bonkers manuscript, of which I have only chosen to show two bird related images; birds swooping down on some snakes in a cave, whist carrying small red pouches in their beaks. One small snake is escaping out of the front of the cave. The second image shows a rock consumed in snake-like fire, whilst a number of birds perch on the rock. A seagull like bird is caught in a flame as it flies in the top left of the picture...........

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