From illustration to identification: some remarks on the representation of Turko-Persian peoples in the Codex Casanatense 1889

Abstract

The Codex Casanatense 1889 consists of a series of watercolours, unique in its genre, by an unknown artist, portraying the inhabitants of 16th century Indian Ocean. Our aim in this paper is, on the one hand, to focus on the plates illustrating characters from the TurkoPersian world while trying to understand if they display any “ethnological” intentions. On the other hand, by comparing the watercolours with information gathered from other contemporary sources, we can safely sustain that the handwritten captions were probably added at a later date by a different hand. This assertion raises many questions about the inner coherence of this outstanding work.