Although rendered in awkward perspective, the Western-style throne on which she perches adheres more closely to classical sources than does her crown, allowing the figure to sit “with her feet outstretched,” as the text requires. She wears a Persian crown topped by a fluttering plume, rather than the diadem of classical precedent. The rubric above her states that the queen in this painting represents the constellation as viewed on a celestial globe. For each of the forty-eight constellations, al-Sufi provided a description, a star chart, and two images, the first as seen on a celestial globe and the second as it appeared in the heavens.
#Cassiopeia greek myth manual
The painting was part of a now-dispersed manuscript of al-Sufi’s Book of the Fixed Stars, a tenth-century astronomical manual that expanded and updated Ptolemy’s Almagest, integrating it with the rich star lore and nomenclature of the Anwa', the pre-Islamic Arabic tradition. Named “The Enthroned One” (dhat al-kursi) in Arabic, this constellation of the Northern Hemisphere was pictured in antiquity as the beautiful, but tragically vain, Queen Cassiopeia of Greek mythology. Descriptions Description Gold disks scattered across this seated figure mark the major stars of the constellation Cassiopeia. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art Accession Year 2002 Object Number 2002.50.145 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Manuscript folio Date late 15th–early 16th century PlacesĬreation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Safavid period Culture Persian Persistent Link Physical Descriptions Medium Ink, gold, and opaque watercolor on paper Dimensions 21.3 x 14.9 cm (8 3/8 x 5 7/8 in.) Provenance Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1998-2002), gift to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Identification and Creation Object Number 2002.50.145 Title The Constellation Cassiopeia (painting, recto text, verso), folio from an Arabic manuscript of the Kitab Suwar al-Kawakib of al-Sufi Classification Manuscripts Work Type
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