Folio. Text Volume: 30 pp., of Arabic text, 96 pp., of critical essays in English, French and German by Oleg Grabar, Jaclynne J. Kenner, Francoise Micheau and Marie-Genevieve Guesdon, half calf with gilt decorated silk boards, decorated endpapers / Plates Volume: Facsimile of the full manuscript, unpaginated (36 leaves), alphabetical table of the Arabic letters tipped in verso lower cover, embossed full calf with flap, the set is housed in a special silk casing with 2 facsimile plates tipped in on upper and lower covers, creative artwork by Dia Azzawi, includes a Certificate of Authenticity from the publisher, Copy in Mint condition. New. Touch@rt / Aboca Museum, London / Italy, Facsimile edition, 2008.

Synopsis

A facsimile manuscript edition of Kitab al-Diryaq. Limited edition of 200 numbered copies in Roman numerals. The same edition includes 20 copies in Roman numerals for the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the Editor and Publisher, of which this copy is No: XX/XX. This facsimile edition comprises an exact copy of the manuscript in its original format of 380 x 270 mm.
This fascinating manuscript describes Theriaca, the ancient medicinal compound initially used as a cure for bites of poisonous snakes and wild animals and later widely employed as a panacea. The work of Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fath and dated 1198, the manuscript includes illustrations of the medicinal plants used for the recipes drawn up by the most important physicians in the Greek tradition, such as Galen of Pergamum and Andromachus. The number of ingredients used to create the medicine increased progressively with the centuries until it exceeded a hundred. Theriaca originated in Greco-Roman antiquity and its popularity was furthered in the Islamic world. This particular manuscript is the earliest and most impressive of the known Theriaca treatises (other later specimens are in Beirut, Cairo, St Petersburg and Vienna).
Conserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (ms. Arabe 2964), this treatise is known as the Paris Kitab al-Diryaq and it is not just a medical treatise, but also an engaging series of tales and anecdotes about the nine Greek physicians of antiquity who contributed to the development of the medicine.