The alchemical symbols in the manuscripts of “The Mirror of Wonders” (Mirʾāt al-ʿajāʾib)

Abstract

Abstract “The Mirror of Wonders” (Mirʾāt al-ʿajāʾib) is an illustrated Arabic treatise about a mysterious mirror that displays different alchemical symbols. This work of unsettled authorship, which was composed between the 12th and 16th centuries, has got a rich manuscript tradition with more than 45 extant copies dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, including translations into Turkish and Persian and various short versions of the text. They prove the remarkable popularity of “The Mirror of Wonders” throughout the Islamicate world, even in modern times. Most manuscripts contain a coloured illustration of the mirror and its symbols, with a large scope of variation in their visual design. The nine alchemical symbols of the mirror are: 1. The two figures embracing each other (al-shakhṣān al-muʿtaniqān); 2. The black circle (al- dāʾira al-sawdāʾ); 3. The palm of the hand (al-kaff); 4. The black raven (al-ghurāb al-aswad); 5. The eagle (al-ʿuqāb); 6. The sun (al-shams); 7. The snake (al-thuʿbān); 8. The nine crabs (al-saraṭānāt al-tisʿa) with the dog descending into the water (al-kalb al-nāzil fī l-māʾ) and 9. The nine circles (al-dawāʾir al-tisʿa). This paper presents the manuscript tradition of Mirʾāt al-ʿajāʾib and analyses the diverging imagery of the symbols and their meanings in the different manuscripts.