King's Pote 139 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Ḥamla-i Ḥaydarī.

Author: Mīrzā Muḥammad Rafī‘ میرزا محمد رفیع

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Friday, 15 Ṣafar 1198 / 9 Jan 1784 Scribe: Anonymous.

Note concerning work: A long mathnavī in the same metre as the Shāhnāmah describing the exploits of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.

References

Browne no. 419

Palmer no. 139

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.704a [BL Egerton 686]

Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library E. Sachau and H. Ethé 1889 col.458, no.518 [Bodl. Ouseley 357]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.1 p.200 (1198H)

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 415 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 31.3 × 23.5 cm.

Dimensions (written): 23.6 × 14.6 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Condition

Good condition.

Layout

21 lines per page.

Ruled in double red with a blue outer (4 columns). Rubrications in red. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions: Notes concerning codex: This manuscript was missing from the collection in the Cambridge University Library - but has now (6/9/2018) been located among the Eton half of the Pote collection (along with mss with shelfmark 17).

Binding

Brown leather, Indian style, with flap. Plain reddish brown leather doublures. Decorations: Metal inlaid, pressure-moulded turanj and two pendants and corner pieces. Flap has a lozenge with two corner pieces. Spine of flap has pressure-moulded inscription and two pendants. Dimensions: 32.8 × 24.3 × 5.7 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 325.

History

Origin: Friday, 15 Ṣafar 1198 AH; 9 Jan 1784 CE

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