Traité de mathématique sur les carrés magique... Lot n° 66

North or West Africa, Hegira 1325 (1906/7) Manuscript in Arabic, on ivory paper, 69 leaves, calligraphed in Maghribi with black ink on 21 lines per page, a few words in red ink. The manuscript is illustrated with numerous diagrams explaining the composition of the magic squares. The colophon indicates that the copy was made by Ali b. Muhammad An-Nashawany and Sidi Al-Hajj Ahmad, son of the late Sidi al-Hajj Muhammad, in 1325 AH. Binding covered with ebru paper. Ivory velvet pouch embroidered in gold thread with vegetal interlacing and the word mashallah on the flap. Condition: taped tears on first 6 pages, binding damaged, otherwise good condition. 26 x 18 cm. This could be the Diwan al-'adad al-wafq - Mathematical Treatise on the Construction of Magic Squares and Triangles, a 16th-century compilation by an anonymous author, which incorporates the writings of such scholars as al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Thābit al-Ḥarrānī ( active in the 10th century), Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī (d. 998), Ibn Haytham (d. ca 1040). The science of letters and numbers were particularly developed in North Africa from the 14th century onwards. A mathematical treatise on magic squares, copied by Ali b. Muhammad An-Nashawany and Sidi Al-Hajj Ahmad, North or West Africa, AH1325 / AD1906/7