The Book of the Usefulness of Animals

The Book of the Usefulness of Animals

A bestiary is a medieval fable, which allegorically connects the moralizing characteristics, real or supposed, of animals as well as mythical creatures with the Christian doctrine of salvation. Bestiaries belong among the most beloved manuscripts of the Middle Ages and were often richly illustrated. A particularly enchanting example of this literary genre is the 1354 work by the Mamluk Ibn Al-Durayhim Al-Mawsili. His work bears the title Of the Utility of Animals and described a large assortment of domestic and wild animals. 250 exciting illustrations on gold backgrounds, which the scribe himself made, illustrate his achievements.

A Unique Document

The book Of the Utility of Animals is a collection of texts, in which the most varied kinds of animals are described and classified. The work is of unusual historical worth, because it is one of the only a few surviving illuminated codices from the Mamluk period of book art. Additionally, it is the only manuscript from this art-historical epoch that can be dated to a concrete time of origin and which can be attributed to a well-known author. It is an astounding masterpiece and one of the few pieces of evidence remaining of oriental art whose fame in the western world endured into modernity.

Precious Illumination

The miniatures in Of the Utility of Animals are drawn in a particularly-enchanting manner. It is the earliest example of miniatures depicted in a precious gold leaf technique from the orient. The pictures show animals in typical and realistic poses. At the same time, the animals were enshrined in a background of glimmering gold. Every miniature is a small, standalone work of art, which still astounds its beholders centuries later.