[Kitab fi Ilm al Jabr wa al-Hisab],

£4,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

An interesting treatise on mathematics with a particular focus on multiplication and division in algebra and arithematic, likely adapted from Nasir al-Din Tusi's Kitab ad-darb wa'l-qisma fi 'ilm al-jabr wa al-hisab (compiled in the thirteenth century). This codex was evidently copied in a few different hands and over a period of time with contemporary annotations to the margin; this suggests that the codex was intended for study in a 'madrasa' setting and used by piers for reference. Furthermore, the combined Ottoman and Persian stylistic influences on the script suggest copying in Tabriz in the seventeenth century, shortly after the area was recaptured by the Safavids after 18 years of Ottoman rule. Single volume, decorated manuscript on paper, in Arabic, 180 leaves, 172 x 100 mm; single column, mostly 17 lines per page, informal naskh freehand sometimes verging on shekasteh script, important sections and headings in red, numerous tables, grids and diagrams throughout the text, some contemporary annotations to margins, catch-words, outer margins of first leaf replaced, overall clean and crisp internal condition, late eighteenth-century leather-backed marbled boards, edges a little rubbed.

• Binding: Hardcover

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