Box2_10 plate 1 & 2
"This is an extraordinary privately assembled encyclopaedia, focused on Mecca as the Navel of the World. Written in manuscript in thin black and red pens in Ottoman language, it contains over 580 pages of manuscript in tiny characters, sometimes accompanied with charts, over 380 manuscript maps...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | unknown |
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Manuscript
1918
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| Online Access: | https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~347691~90115211 https://media.davidrumsey.com/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size4/RUMSEY~8~1/199/10739216.jpg |
| Summary: | "This is an extraordinary privately assembled encyclopaedia, focused on Mecca as the Navel of the World. Written in manuscript in thin black and red pens in Ottoman language, it contains over 580 pages of manuscript in tiny characters, sometimes accompanied with charts, over 380 manuscript maps, made with extreme care in precision in colours and with gold and silver highlights, over 225 prints from magazines, books, atlases and other sources from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often joined in collages and compositions with hand-drawn maps. The maps are made with a greatest precision in well planned configuration. The colours are carefully applied to give an instant effect of a modern data visualisation. The gilt highlights and small details in black ink express the author’s endless patience and dedication to the project. The manuscripts, maps and illustrations are tastefully and carefully joined together thematically in foldouts and pamphlets, bound together with linen or paper stripes or strings. Shorter subjects and uncut plates also appear as separate leaves. We could count 217 such separate units. The whole collection is housed in three charming boxes, possibly made by the author from commercial boxes and leftovers of the linen, which he used for drawings of some of the maps. The anonymous author, doubtless a Muslim intellectual, took the information from the contemporary sources and atlases and smartly combined them in his own unique compositions. He also often added his own annotations, colouring and keys to the prints, which he took from the books and magazines. The manuscripts give an impression of a coherent collection, which was probably never meant for a publication. It was possibly an author private project, to which he dedicated years or decades of his life. It is possible that the collection was meant for a private education. Focus on Mecca The maps with geographic, historic and thematic data focus on the Arabian Peninsula with Mecca as a center. Throughout the series the city is often ... |
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