The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Text Page, Arabic Prose (verso) Text from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Automata) of Inb al-Razza al-Jazari

Text Page, Arabic Prose (verso) Text from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Automata) of Inb al-Razza al-Jazari

1315
Location: not on view

Description

The Arabic title of this work is Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al handasiyya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices). According to the description of the device illustrated on the other side of this page, the peacock is filled with water: as it flows into the vessel below, it raises a float that opens a door in the section above, causing the little figure to move forward offering soap; as more water flows, a second door will open and another figure will move forward offering a towel. Finally, the dirty water is drawn off by means of a spigot.
  • ?-1945
    (Hagop Kevorkian [1872–1962], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1945-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned: cat. no. 717 archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Text Page, Arabic Prose (verso) Text from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Automata) of Inb al-Razza al-Jazari|url=false|author=|year=1315|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.383.b