Folio. viii, [1], 177 pp., 12 illuminated miniature decorations by Racim of which one is a frontispiece and one is at the end of the text, the rest are at the beginning of each chapter, 1 map at the end, coloured plates by Dinet (of which 8 are double paged) painted during his pilgrimage to Mecca, full calf red binding, title gilt on spine, with Arabic calligraphy gilt on upper & lower cover, fitted in slightly rubbed marbled board case, original wrappers preserved, spine of box broken, green silk end papers, copy printed on velum paper de Rives, titles of each chapter printed in Arabic, biblio, list of plates, Bookplate of H. Boekenoogen verso front cover, H. Piazza, Paris, 1918.

Synopsis

Limited edition to 800 copies of which this is numbered 754. The book was printed in memory of those Muslims who died for France.
Étienne Alphonse Dinet, also known as Nasr’ Eddine Dinet (1861 – 1929) was a French Orientalist painter, who lived in Algeria for more than 30 years.
Dinet’s understanding of Arab culture and language set him apart from other Orientalist artists. Surprisingly, he was able to find nude models in rural Algeria. Before 1900, most of his works could be characterised as “anecdotal genre scenes”. As he became more interested in Islam, he began to paint religious subjects more often. He was active in translating Arabic literature into French, publishing a translation of a 13th century Arab epic poem by Antara ibn Shaddad in 1898.
Following in the tradition of all the great Islamic artists, from Persian carpet-weavers to Mongol miniaturists, he evoked the Prophet’s presence through a depiction of the daily lives and religious observances of his followers.