Lot 28
£2,898
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 8 February 2023 at 10:00 GMT
Hariri eloquentiae Arabicae principis tres priores consessus. E codice manuscripto bilbiothecae Lugduno-Batavae pro specimine emissi, ac notis illustrati ab Alberto Schultens. [Part 2:] Consessus Hariri quartus, quintus et sextus. [Part 3:] Monumenta vetustiora Arabiae sive specimina quaedam illustria antiquae memoriae et linguae. Franeker [-Leiden]: Wibius Bleck [-Johannes Luzac], 1731-40-40. 3 parts in 1 volume, 4to (18.9 x 14.7cm), contemporary vellum, manuscript spine-title, woodcut devices to title-pages of parts 1 and 3, engraved device to title-page of part 2, Arabic and Hebrew types throughout, binding dust-soiled and marked, loss to vellum along fore edge of front board, small worm-track to fore margin of first few leaves, small hole in part 2 sig. A1
Note:
First edition of any substantial portion of one of the most celebrated and ingenious works of early Arabic literature. Dating from c.1100, Hariri's Maqamat ('sessions' or 'assemblies') are a series of 50 picaresque vignettes written in virtuosic rhymed prose, recounting the exploits of wandering rogue Abu Zayd al-Saruji. A single maqamah was included in Fabricius's Specimen Arabicum, published in 1638. Schultens's edition contains the original Arabic text of the first six maqamat, each with a parallel Latin translation and detailed commentary.