Migrations of the Mind: Manuscripts from the Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection is at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, through April 18.

Highlights from this extraordinary collection of illustrated manuscripts on the history of science and ideas — exhibited together publicly for the first time — demonstrate the circulation of knowledge around the world and across cultures during the medieval and early modern periods. Medieval Muslim and Christian medicine, Chinese acupuncture, secret experiments in alchemical laboratories, codebooks for keeping secrets secret, and French and Persian visions of the cosmos that blend science with spirituality are among the treasures on display. These manuscripts were produced for caliphs, popes, merchants, and scientists. Copied and illustrated by hand, their contents — their ideas and visions — illustrate the human urge for knowledge and creative invention.