Description:

KASHF AL-ASRAR FI HATK AL'ASTAR IN THE SCIENCE OF CHEMISTRY, WRITTEN BY ALI SHALABV ZADEH, THIS COPY WAS WRITTEN BY ALI BIN ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-TA'IFL AL-MAKKI, IN FRONT OF THE HOLY HOUSE AT MOUNT AIYAD IN MECCA, DATED 996AH
Ottoman Hijaz, dated 996 AH / 1588 AD

Description:
Arabic manuscript on cream paper, written in a fine naskh script in black ink with rubricated titles and highlights in red. This alchemical treatise, Kashf al-Asrar fi Hatk al-Astar, was authored by Ali Shalabv Zadeh and transcribed by Ali bin ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Ta’ifl al-Makki. According to the colophon, the manuscript was completed in 996 AH (1588 AD) “in front of the Holy House at Mount Aiyad in Mecca,” an exceptionally rare detail of provenance that places the manuscript in a sacred and scholarly context.

The text deals with the principles and operations of early Islamic chemistry (al-kimiya), combining theoretical exposition with practical formulae and processes. Several folios include structural or coded arrangements typical of alchemical manuscripts. The manuscript is bound in later leather with a blind-stamped central medallion, likely added in the 19th century.

Measurements:
19 x 14 cm

Comparable examples:

  • A 16th-century manuscript of Kitab al-Asrar by al-Jaldaki, sold at Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 25 October 2018, Lot 23, for £18,750.

  • An alchemical work attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, Ottoman Empire, dated 1573 AD, sold at Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 29 March 2022, Lot 89, for £14,025.

  • A Persian manuscript on chemical operations and metaphysics, 16th–17th century, sold at Sotheby’s, Arts of the Islamic World, 27 April 2022, Lot 21, for £16,380.

Note:
Manuscripts produced in Mecca during the 10th century AH are exceedingly scarce, particularly in the field of science and alchemy. The association with a named scribe and precise location of completion enhances the manuscript’s historical and scholarly significance, while its subject matter reflects the integration of scientific inquiry within the Islamic intellectual tradition.

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
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