Harvard Art Museums > 1965.476: Pump for Raising Water (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a manuscript of the Kitab fi Ma'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiyya (Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) of al-Jazari Manuscripts Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Pump for Raising Water (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a manuscript of the Kitab fi Ma'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiyya (Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) of al-Jazari , 1965.476,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 30, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/216692. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1965.476 Title Pump for Raising Water (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a manuscript of the Kitab fi Ma'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiyya (Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) of al-Jazari Other Titles Series/Book Title: Kitab fi Ma 'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiya Classification Manuscripts Work Type manuscript folio Date 1354 Places Creation Place: Africa, Egypt, Cairo Period Mamluk period Culture Arab Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/216692 Physical Descriptions Medium Ink and opaque watercolor on paper Dimensions folio: 40 x 27.7 cm (15 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Meta and Paul J. Sachs, Bequest of Meta and Paul J. Sachs. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Meta and Paul J. Sachs Accession Year 1965 Object Number 1965.476 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Badi’ al-Zaman Abu al-Izz Isma’il b. al-Razzaz al-Jazari's compendium of mechanical devices stands out for combining theory with practice and providing the earliest mentions of mechanical devices that were thought to have been invented in later periods in Europe. Ibn al-Jazari was an engineer who lived in Amid and possibly Diyar Bakr, and was in the service of the Artuqid rulers of Diyar Bakir: Nur al-Din and his sons Qutb al-Din and Nasr al-Din. The book was commissioned by Nasr al-Din, and it was completed in 1204 A.D. or 1206 A.D. This folio, however, comes from a Mamluk copy of the book which was written in 1354 A.D. The machine depcited here pumps water from a river. Running water rotates a paddled wheel (see the paddles in red) which in turn rotates a horizontal axle. The machine has a triangular body which is immersed in the flowing water. The body contains a gear system which is powered by the rotating axle. A lever on the gear transforms rotational motion into horizontal force which activates a two-cylinder system. The cylinders are alternately filled with water from the same flowing water. The water is then pumped through the two pipes providing a continuous flow of water at the top end of the device. Publication History Agnes Mongan, Memorial Exhibition: Works of Art from the Collection of Paul J. Sachs [1878-1965]: given and bequeathed to the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1965), cat. no. 82, repr. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices by Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari (Dordrecht and Boston, 1974), pl. 30 John R. Hayes, ed., The Genius of Arab Civilization: Source of Renaissance, New York University Press (New York, New York, 1975), Pg. 241 Marianna Shreve Simpson, Arab and Persian Painting in the Fogg Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1980), pp. 15, 112, no. 46 Dr. M.J.L Young, ed., Religion, Learning, and Science in the 'Abbasid period, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, 1990), Pg. 269 al-Jazari, Compendium on the Theory and Practice of the Mechanical Arts, ed. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science (Frankfurt, 2002) Exhibition History Memorial Exhibition: Works of Art from the Collection of Paul J. Sachs [1878-1965] Given and Bequeathed to the Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 11/15/1965 - 01/15/1966; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 12/19/1966 - 02/26/1967 Arab and Persian Painting, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 02/10/1981 - 03/09/1981 Paintings for Princes: The Art of the Book in Islam, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/27/1990 - 03/25/1990 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/18/2023 - 04/15/2024 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
