The Geographer's Library

FERAHID’ S SILVER NEY
Hermes, Thoth, and Mercury: fleet of foot and wit, beloved despite inconstancy.
The learned Galen named the female progenitor of my art after the
Greek member of that triumvir. This metal itself is as predictable in its properties
and character but not in its specific actions and any of these gods. In
this way it resembles women, water, and music, which create, sustain, and
flavor life.
—hamid shorbat ibn ali ibn salim ferahid,
On the Aims of Music and Sunlight
Item 4: An end-blown flute, cylindrical in shape, 28.3 centimeters long
and 2.1 centimeters across, with six finger holes on one side and one for the
thumb on the obverse. Just below the mouthpiece is a carving of a moon
in the Persian style and an inscription in Farsi script that reads “Silver yet
96