[RENAUDOT (Eusèbe). Anciennes relations des Indes et de la C - Lot 184

[RENAUDOT (Eusèbe). Anciennes relations des Indes et de la Chine, de deux voyageurs mahométans, qui y allèrent dans le neuvième siècle ; traduites d'Arabe ; avec des remarques sur les principaux endroits de ces Relations. Paris, J.-B. Coignard, 1718. In-8, XXXIX-(1)-397-(17) p., contemporary brown calf, spine ribbed (defects, headcap torn off, corners worn, crack and worm damage to upper jaw, title-piece missing, sustained wetness at head throughout volume). First edition. Translation by Eusèbe Renaudot of a precious 12th-century Arabic manuscript belonging to the library of Colbert de Seignelay (now kept at the BnF), giving accounts of the journey to China by two 9th-century Arab merchants, Suliman al-Tajir and Abu Zayd al-Hasan al-Shirafi. Dated 851 and 877 CE, these accounts anticipate Marco Polo's account by 400 years. Notes and clarifications by Abbé Renaudot (1646-1720), one of the greatest orientalists of his time and a specialist in Arabic, Syriac and Coptic languages, occupy a large part of the book. Provenance: Asian red stamp on title repeated, antique stamp "bibliothèque du Château d'Oublesse", period handwritten bookplate "Domus Prof. Paris S. Jesu"; "acheté à Paris Librairie Banon en 1955" (mention manuscrite en regard du titre). (Cordier, Sinica, 1923).