AKM8, detail, folio from the Manuscript of Khawass al-Ashjar (The Characteristics of Trees), from the Aga Khan Museum collection in Toronto, the only museum in North America dedicated to presenting an overview of the artistic, intellectual and scientific contributions that Muslim civilisations have made to world heritage.
The manuscript from which this folio comes is an Arabic version of De Materia Medica, completed in the 1st century. Attributed to Dioscorides (d. 90), a Greek physician and botanist, the manuscript describes the medicinal properties of plants. This folio illustrates a plant resembling Mediterranean sage (Salvia aethiopis), which could be used to treat bloody coughs. Photo: The Aga Khan Museum. Learn more.
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