King's Pote 116 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of al-Muʿjam fī Āthār Mulūk al-ʿAjam.

Author: Sharaf al-dīn Faḍl Allāh Ḥusaynī Qazvīnī شرف الدين فضل الله حسينى قزوينى

Title: al-Muʿjam fī Āthār Mulūk al-ʿAjam

Title: المعجم فى آثار ملوك العجم

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Note concerning work: A history of the pre-Islamic kings of Persia.

References

Browne no. 1214

Palmer no. 116

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 pp.811-12 [BL Add. 7712] and p.1065 [BL Add. 1574]

Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library E. Sachau and H. Ethé 1889 col.150, no.285 [Bodl. Ouseley 175]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.1 p.244

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 178 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 21.3 × 12.5 cm.

Dimensions (written): 14.5 × 7.7 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Layout

17 lines per page.

Ruled in gold, black and lapis. Red rubrications.

Hand(s)

Script: Indian nastaʿlīq. Quality: Neat. Scribe: Anonymous.

Decoration

F.1v: sarlauh in gold and lapis. Ff.1v-2r: interlinear gold.

Additions:

F.1r: the original page has been covered with paper but numerous notes and seals are partly legible with backlighting, including seals related to the reign of Shah Jahan. F.178r: a seal alongside the colophon.

Binding

Reddish brown leather with a border in a different tone, Indian style. Marbled paper doublures. Decorations: Only the lower board is decorated, with a pressure moulded turanj and two pendants. The spine is embossed: "Kings College, Cambridge, Ms Pote 116". Condition: Both boards are detached. In need of repair. Dimensions: 21.5 × 12.5 × 2.7 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 163.

History

Origin: Undated.

Provenance and Acquisition

The "Pote Collection" arrived in England from India in 1790 and was divided between the Colleges of Eton and King's, Cambridge, with the first half alphabetically going to King's. Both halves of the collection are now housed in Cambridge University Library on permanent loan. Most if not all of the manuscripts had previously been owned by Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri Polier (1741–1795).

Gift of Edward Ephraim Pote (d.1832) in 1788.

Record Sources

Manuscript description based on E. G. Browne, "A supplementary hand-list of the Muhammadan manuscripts, including all those written in the Arabic character, preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge", Cambridge, 1922 and E. H. Palmer, "Catalogue of the oriental manuscripts in the library of King's College, Cambridge", J.R.A.S. v.3 (1867), pp.105-131 enhanced with additional descriptions and corrections by Shiva Mihan.

Availability

All manuscripts of the Pote Collection are on permanent loan at Cambridge University Library. Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures consult Cambridge University Library. Contact near_eastern@lib.cam.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript

Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World