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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Doug M: [QB] Yes it is. I actually made a mistake earlier. But nevertheless there are other illuminated manuscripts (or fragments of such) from Moorish Spain, but they are definitely in collections that are not readily available to the public. Most of the reason for the lack of such manuscripts is because of the book burning campaigns of the Spanish Christians. However, many of these books were also kept in private collections secretly both for translations to Spanish and as treasure. However, the manuscript is still the product of strong influence from the East: [QUOTE] The purpose of this work is to account for the subject matter of the Hadith Bayad manuscript in the Vatican Library (Arab. 368) . Special attention will be paid to the elements that were borrowed from the Mesopotamian school as well as the indigenous and local character of the manuscript. There are doubts about the date and place of origin of this manuscript. Most scholars, however, agree that it is hispano-moresque . Richard Ettinghausen also supports the idea of its Spanish source owing to the sophistication of the miniatures. The manuscript was classified as Almohad in the exhibition “al Andalus” that was held in Granada and Washington in 1992. This assertion is based on the similarity of the script, both in layout and colour, with two manuscripts from al-Andalus , however none of them are illustrated. Oleg Grabar and Richard Ettinghausen attribute it with a Spanish origin because of the style of the architecture that is depicted in the miniatures. There are also different opinions regarding the date of the manuscript. The Italian scholars Levi della Vida and Ugo Monneret de Villard date it from the fourteenth century, but more recent studies carried out by O.Grabar and R. Ettinghausen put its date at 1200; the same as the classification in al- Andalus, from the early thirteenth century. The manuscript is extensively illustrated; fourteen of its miniatures have survived. In spite of having the beginning and end missing, not much of the story seems to be lost. For the present study eight illustrations have been available. According to Ugo Monneret de Villard the manuscript probably arrived with other Arab manuscripts at the Vatican Library after 1535, as a consequence of the sacking of Tunis in 1535. An unfortunate restoration at the end of the seventeenth century damaged even more of the illustrations, for example the illustration in folio twenty nine reverse was completely covered with an inferior metal. The current threat to the illustrations however, is humidity. THE STORY No other copies of the manuscript have been found, although the title The Account of Bayad and Riyad occurs in an Istanbul manuscript containing stories on the order of the Arabian Nights. The narrative takes place in Northern Mesopotamia. The hero, Bayad, is a young merchant who falls in love with a handmaiden of a noble lady, who is the daughter of a chamberlain named Riyad. There are many complications in the story because the chamberlain is also interested in Riyad. There is also the figure of a go-between who became adviser to Bayad. She plays an important role in the development and action of the story, exchanging messages, letters, arranging dates and so on. All this is the standard paraphernalia of courtly love. Owing to the inaccessibility of other relevant documentary material about the story, the only sources to study the relationship between the text and the illustrations are the information available in al-Andalus and the translation of the paragraphs which accompany the illustrations. Folio 10r. The go-between arranges for the two lovers to meet at a majlis ghima’ (get together) organized by the Lady of the palace, the daughter of al-Hajib; the lovers sing and play the lute, declaring their passion. Folio 14r This upsets the Lady of the Palace who is apprehensive between the lovers that her father will find out about Bayad and Riyad. She orders that Riyad be kept in a separate house, where she is left alone to cry and pine. The name of Riyad is mentioned in the text twice. Two courtiers talk about the fate of the couple. Riyad listens with great attention. The rabbit, as a symbol of longevity, might anticipate the happy end of the story. In spite of the separation love will remain. Folio 15r. The old lady reprimands the love sick Bayad Folio 17r. Letters are exchanged Folio 19r. Meanwhile, Bayad is seen wandering, talking to himself, and fainting. The text refers to the river Nahar al-Therthar whose water irrigates many orchards included the one in which the scene is set. Folio 26v. The old woman arranges a reconciliation between Riyad and the Lady of the Palace who finally decides to bring Bayad and Riyad together, whatever the consequences. The text describes the way Riyad embellishes herself, she combs her hair, and wears her finest garments for her meeting with the lady of the palace. In the text the words ‘good news’ are also mentioned. The story has a happy ending in which Bayad and Riyad can see each other again thanks to the tricks of the old woman. The illustrations are a fairly accurate representation of the text. An open question is how popular the favorite Iraqi texts were in Spain (ej. The Maqamat, Kalila wa Dimma, the Dioscorides or the Automata). Since this manuscript is the only reproduction of the text that has survived, there is not enough evidence to tell whether the al-Andalus manuscript had copied other manuscripts from the east, or the artistic influences arrived in al-Andalus by other means such as pottery or textiles. This could also explain the depiction of Samarra figure types while the rest of the features belong to the Baghdad school of painting. THE ILLUSTRATIONS The illustrations will be analysed according to two different approaches; firstly the pictorical elements that have their origin in Mesopotamia, in the Samarra school of painting and the Baghdad school of painting. Secondly, the regional and local features in the illustrations. 2.1 Mesopotamian features in the manuscript Ugo Monneret de Villard points out the similarities of the manuscript with Seljuq art in contrast with al-Gazirah art from Mawsil. An important difference in technique is the use of plain coloured paper for the background in the school of Baghdad, whereas in Gazirah art the background is painted in pale pink and occasionally blue. Our manuscript has plain colour in the background, the same as other manuscripts from the same period in the Baghdad school, eg. the Maqâmât of al-Harîrî in the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris The treatment of space is the same as in the Baghdad school. The figures are depicted in one plane. They stand on the ground which is outlined by a green line of grass The same green line is outlined at the bottom of the folio in both Maqamat Hariri from the Biblioteque National and the Hariri in the Oriental Institute Academy of Science Leningrad. In the second manuscript the depiction of grass is more akin to the example we are analysing. The grass is formed with vertical lines and it appears even in the desert scenes. This indicates that it was a convention for the ground. There is a lack of perspective, although some devices have been added to create depth; when there is a group, the figures overlap in order to create different planes. This can be illustrated with the following examples: In folio 26v there are three false planes; the woman in the first plane stands on the grass, the woman who is kneeling on an architectural frame with one of her arms sunken into the grass in the second, and the tree behind her in the third. In folio 19r, there are again different planes ; the water wheel in the first plane, and the figure of Biyad lying on the ground forming the second. The ‘scorzo’ of his hand and the lace from the turban create a spatial feeling In folio fourteen reverse there is an attempt to create perspective. There are two planes depicted in this illustration, the upper part of the architecture, and the lower part where the stairs and the water basin are. Ugo Monneret de Villard thinks that this illustration is the only experiment to create a feeling of perspective with architecture in two planes. The position of the hands of the figures on the right below the arcade also contribute to creating a feeling of space. As in the Maqâmât, architectural features are used to set the scene (indoors, outdoors and the garden) U.Monneret studies the way that the inside of buildings are represented; he concludes that the painter has taken the end elevations of buildings and turned them on their axes until they became one plane with their front elevations on the folio. The interior therefore is shown in orthogonal projection . This is the same convention for interior spaces as has been used by the Mesopotamian artists. The figures are arranged in the same plane in most illustrations; accordingly isocephalic figures are especially remarkable when a large group is depicted; folio 10 r (Monneret de Villard), folio 10r.(R. Ettinghausen, 1977, p. 129). This has been classified by R. Ettinghausen as part of the Perso-Iraqi tradition. [/QUOTE]From: http://www.funci.org/en/2009/articles/hadith-bayad-wa-riyad-manuscript/ [/QB][/QUOTE]
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