Top of page

Manuscript/Mixed Material Wa-hādhihi abwāb tushtamilu ʻalá ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-ʻamalih وهذه ابواب تشتمل على صنعة النفط وعمله / Also known as: Qiṭʻah min kitāb fī ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-al-adʹhān wa-al-aṣmāgh / Ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-ʻamalih

View 60 images in sequence.

About this Item

Title

  • Wa-hādhihi abwāb tushtamilu ʻalá ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-ʻamalih

Other Title

  • وهذه ابواب تشتمل على صنعة النفط وعمله
  • Also known as: Qiṭʻah min kitāb fī ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-al-adʹhān wa-al-aṣmāgh
  • Ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-ʻamalih

Summary

  • Manuscript is a large portion of a work on the manufacture of petroleum, oils, and gums. On the title page, a piece of paper has been glued over the top three-quarters of the page so that only the rubricated title and 3 lines of writing at the bottom are visible. There follow two pages of tables on different kinds of petroleums, oils, and gums. On the next leaf begins the text proper, which starts with chapter six (al-bāb al-sādis) on the manufacture of gums.
  • This anonymous manuscript, which most likely dates from the 18th century, is an example of how scientific works circulated in manuscript form up to modern times. The subject is mostly petroleum and its manufacture, but the treatise also includes a treatment of different kinds of tar and various gums. On the title page, a piece of paper has been glued over the top three-quarters of the page so that only the rubricated title and three lines of writing at the bottom are visible. The manuscript opens with a two-page table that presents the different materials dealt with in the work: 11 kinds of petroleum, four kinds of tar, 30 different oils, three gums, and a number of other oil-derived materials. The treatise is not complete, as the first page of text after the table contains the sixth chapter of the work, which is devoted to operations to be conducted on gums or resins to transform them into other substances. The central section of the work is devoted to different "cooking" techniques that can be applied to petroleum and oil-derived substances to purify them and prepare them for further use. One of the most interesting features of the treatise is how it shows the persistence into the modern era of a terminology and a style that is typical of the medieval and early modern alchemical tradition, which is here applied to various modern techniques. Chapters such as those dealing with sulfur and arsenic are good examples: they mention operations, such as distillation and sublimation, and apparatuses, such as the alembic, which commonly are found in much older Arabic alchemical works, but here the terms are used in the context of the modern chemical industry. World Digital Library.

Created / Published

  • [18--?]

Headings

  • -  Gums and resins--Handbooks, manuals, etc
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Oils and fats--Handbooks, manuals, etc
  • -  Petroleum

Notes

  • -  Binding: new; cloth over cardboard, leather spine.
  • -  Fol. 1a-26b.
  • -  Library of Congress. Arabic manuscript, SM-98.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Nastaʻliq script with some words in Thuluth; 21 lines in written area, 24 x 17 cm.
  • -  Paper: thick yellowed cream, no visible watermarks, seriously affected by termite damage and many leaves repaired. Some diacritical marks. Red and black ink on title page; text in black and red. Catchwords on rectos.
  • -  Tables on folia1b and 2a.
  • -  Fihris al-makhṭūṭāt al-ʻArabīyah fi Maktabat al-Kūnghris, 64; under title: Qiṭʻah min kitāb fī ṣanʻat al-nafṭ wa-al-adʹhān wa-al-aṣmāgh.
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
  • -  Arabic.
  • -  Incipit: وهذه أبواب تشتمل على صنعة النفط وعمله واللعب به وصنعة رمى النار والإحراق بها ومعرفة الأدهان التي تستخرج منها وإخراج النار من المياه.

Medium

  • 26 leaves (21 lines), bound : paper ; 32 x 23 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • TP670 .W112 1800z

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008427053

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Wa-Hādhihi Abwāb Tushtamilu ʻalá Ṣanʻat Al-Nafṭ Wa-ʻamalih. [18--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008427053/.

APA citation style:

Wa-Hādhihi Abwāb Tushtamilu ʻalá Ṣanʻat Al-Nafṭ Wa-ʻamalih. [18--?] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008427053/.

MLA citation style:

Wa-Hādhihi Abwāb Tushtamilu ʻalá Ṣanʻat Al-Nafṭ Wa-ʻamalih. [18--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008427053/>.