Seminar: Re-discovering the de Gironcourt collection of West African Arabic manuscirpts – 14th of August

Re-discovering the de Gironcourt collection of West African Arabic manuscirpts

Mauro Nobili (University of Cape Town)

Wednesday 14^th of August, 14:00

62 Juta Street, 1^st floor, Braamfontein, Johannesburg

During a mission in the French Soudan dated 1911-12, the ingénieur-agronome George de Gironcourt collected a number of manuscripts written in the Arabic language. Eventually these manuscripts were donated at the Institut de France in Paris. The de Gironcourt collection has been neglected by the scholars of West Africa and still remains an untouched repository of very relevant works on African history and culture. The presentation, based on the forthcoming catalogue of the de Gironcourt manuscript, will present the explorer’s mission and the collection which resulted from it, also providing a window on the manuscript culture of the Niger Bend as well as a picture of the area during the colonial period.

Mauro Nobili is a specialist in West African history and Arabic manuscripts. He is a post-doctoral fellow affiliated to HUMA (UCT) within the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project as well as to the Department of Religious Studies. His current research focuses on the Arabic script styles displayed by West African manuscripts.

Victor Magnani

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