The Paintings of al-Āthār al-Bāqiya of al-Bīrūnī

Abstract

Painting in Islamic art witnessed a major development in the aftermath of the Mongol conquest in the middle of the thirteenth century. A new style matured toward the end of the fourteenth century after passing through a period of survival of pre- Mongol style, established in various places during the last fifty years of the Abbasid period, into the post-Mongol paintings. The main aspect of this development was the introduction of Chinese pictorial elements and manner of rendering into Islamic painting. The subject of this thesis is the paintings - twenty-five in total - in an illustrated manuscript of al-Āthār al-Bāqiya ʿan al-Qorūn al-Khāliya for Abū Rayḥān Muhammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. This study explores the coexistence of pre- and post- Mongol aspects that constituted a hybrid style, in light of the earlier style and the possible Chinese sources.