"Hare", Folio from the Mantiq al-wahsh (Speech of the Wild Animal) of Ka'b al-Ahbar

Ka'b al-Ahbar

11th–12th century · Opaque watercolor on paper · Islamic Art

This page from a zoological manuscript contains lines of text and two drawings of wild animals, a lion (recto) and a hare (verso). Although fragmentary pages with drawings are not uncommon from the Fatimid period, especially coming from the ruins of Fustat (Old Cairo), this is one of the earliest surviving folios from a once bound manuscript.

Artist: Ka'b al-Ahbar
Date: 11th–12th century
Medium: Opaque watercolor on paper
Department: Islamic Art
Credit line: Rogers Fund, 1954

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