- Precious stones - Arabic manuscripts (4) - Mines and mineral
resources (2) - Arabic poetry (1) - Botany (1) - Illuminations
(1) - Miniatures (Illuminations) (1) - Naskh script (1) - Poetry
(1) - Zoology (1) Book of Royal Gemstones This work, by Abu
al-‛Abbās Ahmad b. Yūsuf al-Qaysī al-Tīfāshī, a 13th-century
writer and mineralogist who was born in Tunisia and worked in
Egypt, describes precious gems found in the treasuries of kings
and rulers. The author lists 25 gemstones and dedicates a
chapter to each. They include the ruby (yāqūt), emerald
(zumurrud), topaz (zabarjad), diamond (almās), turquoise
(fīrūzaj), magnetite (maghnātīs), agate (‛aqīq), lapis lazuli
(lāzward), coral (marjān), and quartz (talq). In each chapter,
the author discusses the causes of the gemstone’s formation,
provenance, criteria for appraisal of ... The Book on the
Properties of Precious Gems The title page identifies this
manuscript as a copy of Kitab khawas al-jawāhir (The book on the
properties of precious gems), written by Yaqūb