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A research project and an exhibition by Funded by
Curators and chief scientific advisors thanks to the sponsorship of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin
Massimiliano Lisa Khalifa Al Thani. The project were funded by the Qatar Museums
Mario Taddei Authority chaired by Her Excellence Sheika Mayassa bint Hamad Bin
Edoardo Zanon Khalifa Al Thani and directed by Abdulla Al Najjar
Interpretation and reconstruction of machines
Mario Taddei
Edoardo Zanon
Co-ordination
Massimiliano Lisa Museum of Islamic Art
Doha - Qatar
Three-dimensional reconstructions
Giuseppe Canino
Emanuele Degli Antoni
Mario Taddei
Edoardo Zanon Index
The exhibition in Doha
Physical models The Book of Secrets
Mario Taddei The Physical Models
Edoardo Zanon
Alessandro Pettazzi
Alessandro Vivaldi
Antonio Buonarota
Original texts
Hocine Benchina
Soha Bayoumi
Jolanda Guardi
Massimiliano Lisa
Ahmed Ragab
Mario Taddei
Edoardo Zanon
Italian translations and edition in Arabic
Jolanda Guardi
Hocine Benchina
English translations Video of the project (English - 69 MB - streaming)
Ahmed Ragab
Video of the project (French - 76 MB - streaming)
English editing and proofreading
Video of the project (Arabic - 90 MB - streaming)
Chris Ashcraft
Soha Bayoumi Press release (English)
Press release (Arabic)
French translations
Ahmed Ragab Press release (French)
Soha Bayoumi
French editing and proofreading
Matthieu Fintz
Pauline Chetcuti
Alexandra Hagondokoff
Thibaud Smerko
Digital photography of the manuscript
Roberto Bigano
Software visual design
Mario Taddei
Edoardo Zanon
Software production and montage
Antonio Buonarota
Emanuele Degli Antoni
Andrea de Michelis
Edoardo Zanon
Video editing and direction
Massimiliano Lisa The Book of Secrets is now a digital interactive manuscript and the public
can turn its pages, using the L3 Digital Codex technology
Voice overs in the videos
Alain Ghazal
James Herron
Dario Viganò
Sound design (for the software)
Emanuele Degli Antoni
Antonio Buonarota
Setup and technologies
Leonardo3
We wish to thank
Abdulla Al Najjar - Qatar Museums Authority
Maha Al-Hajri - Qatar Museums Authority
Franca Arduini - Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana di Firenze
From each original figure of the manuscript comes out an animated 3D
digital model with the interpretation of the machine
The Book of Secrets is a manuscript dating back to the year
1000. It is a priceless manuscript, as it includes descriptions
and drawings of more than thirty ingenious devices including
mechanical apparatuses, water clocks, automatic calendars and
war machines. It was copied in 1266 (in Toledo) from an original
dating back to the eleventh century by the Andalusian engineer
Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi. It is an extraordinarily important
manuscript in the field of the history of science, because it
represents one of the earliest written and drawn testimonies
about complex ancient machines and has never before been
studied or divulged.
The auspices of the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad
bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has allowed the funding of an entire It's possible to zoom inside any part of the manuscript with an incredible
research group that, after months of work, has given level of detail
exceptional results. The complexity of the manuscript had
prevented many experts from interpreting it. Thanks to the
competence and the technology of the Italian research center
Leonardo3, the manuscript has, for the first time, been
transcribed (in Arabic) and translated (into Italian, English and
French). Moreover, all its machines have been interpreted and
reconstructed.
All the work that has been presented in a permanent exhibition
at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, and it was one of its main
attractions on the occasion of its inauguration on November 22,
2008. The exhibition presents a digital and interactive
reconstruction of the manuscript, explaining all its machines to
the public, thanks to tridimensional models animated through a
holographic touch screen. Two machines of the Book of Secrets
were physically reconstructed: The Fortress Demolisher (Figure
23, f. 35v) and the Clock with Three Characters (Figure 11, f.
21r). An edition including a case with the book (in Arabic, The index with all the machines in 3D
English, French and Italian), a facsimile and a DVD-ROM will
help reveal this unique work to the whole world.
The curators of this work are the founders of Leonardo3,
Massimiliano Lisa, Mario Taddei and Edoardo Zanon. All the
interpretations of the machines are owed to Zanon and Taddei.
The project and the exhibition were funded by the Qatar
Museums Authority chaired by Her Excellence Sheika Mayassa
bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and directed by Abdulla Al
Najjar.
The index with all the pages of the manuscript
The 3D model of figure number 1 - A love fairytale and the evil snakes
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