Page 58 - Highlights of the Collection
P. 58
Pedanius Dioscorides [40-90 CE]
Page from the
pharmacopeia of plants
De Materia Medica
Iraq, Baghdad, Arabic edition, 1200-1300
H. 25 × L. 16.8 cm, ink and paint on paper
This page comes from a version of De Materia
Medica – Khawass al-achjar – written in Arabic in
Baghdad in the 13th century. Originally composed in
the 1st century in Greek by Dioscorides, a physician
from Cilicia, the work is considered to have had a
great influence on Byzantine, Arabian and western
Highlights of the Collection
pharmacopoeia. The plant depicted here is comfrey
(symphytum officinale) which has medicinal anti-
inflammatory and haemostatic properties.
Louvre Abu Dhabi
57
