- 209
tahrir kitab al-kura wa'l-ustuwana li arshimidis ('Exposition on the Sphere and Cylinder'), Nasr Al-Din Al-Tusi (d.1274), dated 698 AH/1298 AD
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
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Description
- Ink on Paper
Arabic manuscript on paper, 57 leaves plus 2 flyleaves, 21 lines to the page, written in naskh script in black ink, numerous diagrams in black and red ink throughout, catchwords, brown morocco binding with stamped geometric decoration, with flap
Condition
In good overall condition, binding with repairs, some small stains, otherwise pges generally clean and ink and diagrams strong, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
This treatise describes and explains one of the most famous of Archimedes' mathematical theories, that of the 'Sphere and the Cylinder'. Addressed to Dositheus, Archimedes obtained the result of the relationship between the sphere and circumscribed cylinder of the same height and diameter. The sphere has a volume two-thirds that of the circumscibed cylinder, and similarly the sphere has an area two-thirds that of the cylinder (including the bases). This particular mathematical proof was so close to Archimedes' heart that a sculpted sphere and cylinder were placed on top of his tomb at his request.
The great scholar and polymath Nasr al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274 AD) was responsible for editions of most of the Greek astronomical and mathematical works that had been translated into Arabic in the eighth-tenth centuries. His enormous output in such editions or recensions was almost matched by his own independent works on those subjects.
Written within twenty-five years of the death of Al-Tusi, this manuscript can be counted among the earliest of copies of the work. For a list of other known copies of the present manuscript see B.A. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematics, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and their Works (7th-19thc.), Istanbul, 2003.
The great scholar and polymath Nasr al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274 AD) was responsible for editions of most of the Greek astronomical and mathematical works that had been translated into Arabic in the eighth-tenth centuries. His enormous output in such editions or recensions was almost matched by his own independent works on those subjects.
Written within twenty-five years of the death of Al-Tusi, this manuscript can be counted among the earliest of copies of the work. For a list of other known copies of the present manuscript see B.A. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematics, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and their Works (7th-19thc.), Istanbul, 2003.