Description:

SHARH JIGHMINI FI FANN AL-HAY’AH, A COMMENTARY ON ASTRONOMY, 17TH CENTURY
Persianate World (Possibly Ottoman or Safavid), 17th century

Description:
A fine and important manuscript of Sharh Jighmini fi Fann al-Hay’ah, a commentary on the influential astronomical treatise by Mahmud ibn Muhammad Jighmini (d. ca. 1220), widely studied across the Islamic world. This 17th-century copy is beautifully laid out with elegant black naskh script, rubrication in red, and numerous astronomical diagrams, which explain celestial spheres, planetary movements, and geocentric cosmology.

The diagrams are especially notable—drawn with precise concentric circles in red ink and annotations in black—representing classical Ptolemaic models of the universe, including epicycles, the moon’s orbit, and other celestial phenomena. The scientific diagrams are dispersed throughout the text, indicating a highly didactic intention for scholars and students of astronomy.

This text served as a cornerstone of Islamic astronomy instruction from the 13th to 18th centuries and was often used in madrasa curricula. The commentary further expands on Jighmini’s concise original, bringing in explanations and calculations useful for practical and theoretical astronomy.

Dimensions:
Length: 26 cm
Width: 13.5 cm

Comparable Examples:

  • A 17th-century copy of Jighmini’s al-Mulakhkhas fi al-Hay’a, with diagrams, sold at Christie’s, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 26 April 2018, Lot 97, for £11,250.

  • A 16th-century Ottoman commentary on astronomical treatises, including circular diagrams, sold at Sotheby’s, 20 October 2021, for £9,375.

  • A manuscript of al-Hay’ah al-Saniyah attributed to Nasir al-Din Tusi, with related Ptolemaic illustrations, sold at Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 2019, for £13,000.

Note:
The Sharh Jighmini remained a staple of pre-modern Islamic science. Manuscripts such as this one, with rich explanatory diagrams, reveal the intellectual rigour of Islamic cosmology during the early modern period. The elegant layout and scientific clarity make this manuscript a key resource for understanding how astronomy was transmitted and taught in Islamic societies. Its well-preserved diagrams and legible script suggest that this volume was both read and revered.

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
London, United Kingdom

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