King's Pote 137(1) (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

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Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Ḥayāt al-Ḥayawān (“Book of Animals” in Persian translation).

Author: Damīrī, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā, 1341?-1405 اللدميري، محمد بن موسى

Translator: Anonymous

Title: Ḥayāt al-Ḥayawān (“Book of Animals” in Persian translation)

Title: حيوة الحيوان

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: No colophon.

Note concerning manuscript: The text finishes just after the start of bab al-ṭāʾ (which continues in the next part).

References

Browne no. 422

Palmer no. 137

Geschichte der arabischen Literatur C. Brockelmann 1892-1902 (2 vols. plus supplements) GAL II.138; GAL Supp. II.171

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 II.3 p.442

An English translation in 2 vols. By Lieut.-Col A.S.G. Jayarkar was published at Bombay and London in 1906-8.

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 350 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 24.3 × 15.8 cm.

Dimensions (written): 18.8 × 11 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Layout

13-18 lines per page.

Ruled in double red with a blue outer. Rubrications in red. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Quality: Legible. Scribe: Anonymous.

Binding

Marbled paper on suede with suede corners and spine, European style. Plain paper doublures (watermarked: "J. WHATMAN"). Dimensions: 24.8 × 15.8 × 5.3 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 328.

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

Bibliography

Work in multiple volumes bearing the class-marks: 137(1), 137(2).

Funding of Cataloguing

King's College Cambridge

Subjects

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