Miniature from a copy of Kitab al-hashaish, an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica. “The Doctor’s Office”, Iraq, Baghdad?; 1224. Leaf: 32.2 × 24 cm, Inv. no. 4/1997 © The David Collection.

This miniature is a lovely example of the oldest preserved book painting from the Islamic world. It was made in Iraq by Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, who presumably was responsible for both copying and illustrating it. The style is an example of “Arab painting,” in which Byzantine and local Christian pictorial conventions were still found, for example in the use of haloes and the folds of garments.

The manuscript contains a number of depictions of medicinal plants. The fact that there are also figurative depictions of more “unnecessary” scenes, such as this doctor’s office, has been considered by many to signify the birth of Islamic book painting.