Commentary on the 1501 Astronomical Tables by Abraham Zacut (Zacuto b. Salamanca; 1452) written by Abraham Gascon (16th century) and adapted to the geographical position of Cairo.Condition: tornLayout: 20-23 lines
An astronomical treatise by Abraham b. ʿAnzar(?) on the seven planets and the model of the Universe. Mentions Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Abraham bar Ḥayya, Copernicus and the philosopher Abū Bakr b. al-Ṣāyiḡ (ibn Bajja), whose book the author read with a Muslim.Condition: Torn, holes, slightly rubbed, slightly stainedLayout: 15–27 lines (2v is blank)
A collection of anonymous astrological and magical treatises. Also bound together with this manuscript is a lithographed copy of Kitāb fī al-tamām wa-al-kamāl by Abū Maʻshar. This book is in two parts, the first dealing with horoscopes of men and their signs the second with women. Each part has 12 sections.
Watermark: Anchor in circle. See Edward Heawood, Watermarks, Mainly of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Hilversum, 1950), nos. 1-8.Text rubricated; marginal notes in hand of copyist (?) and others.Date in colophon: taḥrīran fī awākhir shahr Dhī al-Qaʻdah ʻām sabʻah wa-ʻishrīn wa-alf min hijrat al-nabawī [i.e. November 1618].Pp. [5-19]. Bound with: [2] Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Bannāʾ, Abwāb yastadillu bi-hā ʻalá al-awqāt wa-al-sāʻāt wa-yuʻlam bi-hā awqāt al-ṣalāh, pp. [20-47]; [3] Abū al-Ḥasan ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Qalaṣādī, Kashf al-asrār ʻan ʻilm ḥurūf al-ghubār, pp. [48-116].On timekeeping and the conversion of calendars.
Watermarks: Three crescents; initials W+W. For the first see Edward Heawood, Watermarks, Mainly of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Hilversum, 1950), p. 24.Contains star tables and astronomical diagrams.Rubrication on first 5 pp. only; marginal corrections in another hand."A treatise dealing mainly with astrology.... This work merits investigation." David A. King, A Survey of the Scientific Manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library (Winona Lake, 1986), p. 42.
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldRecord origin: "Description based on the Bodleian Library's public card index of Arabic manuscripts with additional enhancements by the OCIMCO project team. Image descriptions based in part on CarboniRecord origin: S. (1988)Record origin: Il Kitab al-bulhan di Oxford."
Binding: Late 16th or early 17th century calf over wooden boards, with blind-tooled panels and rolls and centrepiece ornaments on both boards; sewn onto four supports, with raised bands; remains of metal clasps; text block edges sprinkled red.Contents note: Includes vocalised text of Five Scrolls. Some marginal manuscript annotations in Hebrew in Sephardi cursive script.Decoration: Title page decorated with simple floral motifs.Dimensions: 200mm (height) x 158mm (width) x 48mm (depth).Layout: Biblical text in a larger square script and vocalised; Almosnino’s commentary that surrounds it is in a semi-cursive script. Hebrew types resembling square and semi-cursive scripts.