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Secondary sourceBook1632

Text and Painting Page from Avicenna's Canon

1632

An illuminated 1632 manuscript page combining painted decoration with Arabic text from Avicenna's medical masterwork, the Canon of Medicine.

A later manuscript copy preserving Avicenna's own text, the Canon of Medicine, decorated in a rich illustrated tradition.

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Illuminated manuscript page with an ornate gold-and-floral painted arch frame at top, a blue and green patterned panel, and an illuminated title band above several columns of Arabic calligraphy in black ink on tan paper.
Text and painting page, Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, 1632. Wellcome Collection.

About this source

What it is

This manuscript page combines an ornate painted border with columns of Arabic calligraphy from Avicenna's Canon of Medicine. It dates from 1632 and is held by the Wellcome Collection in the United Kingdom.

Why it matters

The page shows how Avicenna's writing was still being copied and beautifully decorated centuries after his death, reflecting the lasting prestige of his work across the Islamic world. The illumination reveals the care and artistry that scribes and artists gave to his text.

Look closer

  • What does the elaborate painted frame suggest about how important this text was considered?
  • Why might a scribe centuries later still be copying Avicenna's original words exactly?
  • What parts of the page can you read, and what parts remain a mystery without knowing Arabic?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Avicenna on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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