Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti

Al-Wasiti was probably born in Wasit, south of Baghdad.^[5] In 1237 he transcribed and illustrated a copy of al-Hariri's Maqamat typically shortened to Maqamat, and also known as the Assemblies,^[6] a series of anecdotes of social satire written by Al-Hariri of Basra. Al-Wasiti's illustrations, which are among the finest examples of a style used in the 13th-century, served as an inspiration for the modern Baghdad art movement in the 20th-century.^[7]

Very little is known about his life. He was from the 13th century school of painting. He was known for his articulate painting style.^[8]

In total, Maqmat has 96 illustrations, all by al-Wasiti. They are of "outstanding quality with fine composition, expressive figures, and vivid but controlled colours" and provide readers with "fascinating series of glimpses into and commentaries on 13th-century Islāmic life."^[9]

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  Left frontispiece (1v): ruler in Turkic dress (long braids, Sharbush fur hat, boots, fitting coat), in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, possibly Baghdad.^[10][11][12]
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  Right frontispiece (2r): possible depiction of the author al-Hariri himself, in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, possibly Baghdad.^[10][13]
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  Maqama 10: Ayyubid Governor of Rahba, with Abū Zayd and his son.^[14]
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  Maqama 39: the Queen of Oman giving birth.^[15]
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• Arabic literature
• Culture of Iraq
• Islamic art
• List of Iraqi artists

• Contadini, Anna (1 January 2012). A World of Beasts: A Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Arabic Book on Animals (the Kitāb Na't al-Ḥayawān) in the Ibn Bakhtīshū' Tradition. Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004222656_005.
• Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). La Peinture arabe (in French). Geneva: Skira. pp. 104–124.
  • Translated as Ettinghausen, Richard (1977b). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
• Grabar, Oleg (1984). The Illustrations of the Maqamat (PDF). University of Chicago Press. p. 7.
• Grabar, Oleg. "Maqamat Al-Hariri: Illustrated Arabic Manuscript from the 13th century". Retrieved 24 January 2023.
• Hillenbrand, Robert (1 January 2010). "The Schefer Ḥarīrī: A Study in Islamic Frontispiece Design". Arab Painting: 117–134. doi:10.1163/9789004236615_011. ISBN 978-90-04-23661-5.
• Shah, Amina (1980). The assemblies of al-Hariri : fifty encounters with the Shaykh Abu Zayd of Seruj. London : Octagon Press. ISBN 978-0-900860-86-7.
• Snelders, B. (2010). Identity and Christian-Muslim interaction : medieval art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul area. Peeters, Leuven.
• Al Maqamat: Beautifully Illustrated Arabic Literary Tradition – 1001 Inventions

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