«Kalila and dimna» in the miniatures of arabic manuscripts
Аннотация
This article surveys the illustrations of the few surviving medieval Arabic manuscripts of the Kalila and Dimna fables collection. One of the works of verbal and visual art, known in the history of culture of Central Asia and the Middle East, translated into many languages of the world, and widely distributed both in Islamic countries and in Europe, this collection of witty allegorical short stories has maintained its popularity and relevance up to the present. The protagonists of the fables are talking animals, who, much like human beings, provide both
good and bad examples, such as deceit leading to death, unconditional kindness getting rewarded, consequences of erroneous decisions, and wise decisions. It is no accident that the collection is named after two jackals – simultaneously friends and antipodes. One of them is the good-natured Kalila, striving for justice, the other is the intriguing, and scheming Dimna, characterized as a dodger personality.The article briefly recounts the hard lot of the actual literary work, taking us on a tour of the depths of the culture of the distant past, and the vicissitudes of its written reproduction in the few surviving manuscripts accompanied by illustrations, made by the various intellectual centers at different time periods during the politically complex of the 13th and 14th centuries. These miniatures, not only providing the text with décor, but also explaining the meaning of the Kalila and Dimna fables, instruct and amuse the reader. Moreover, they attract attention with the vibrant and recognizable characters. Uncomplicated and sometimes reminiscent of a child’s drawing, these illustrations do not always accurately illustrate the text, yet clarify the development of not only this little known form of book painting during the era of the Arab Caliphate but also the artistic
culture from the medieval Islamic world as a whole.