King's Pote 153 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of the Khamsa of Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī.

Author: Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, ca. 1253-1325 امير خسرو دهلوى

Title: Khamsa-i Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī

Title: خمسهء امير خسرو دهلوى

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Place: Herat Date: 16 Rabīʿ I 979 / 8 Aug 1571 Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: On f.224r.

References

Browne no. 442

Palmer no. 153

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.615 [BL Add. 24983]

Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the library of the India Office (2 vols.) H. Ethé 1903-37 col.691, no. 1186/6-10 [BL IO Islamic 51]

Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library E. Sachau and H. Ethé 1889 col.560, no.766 [Bodl. Elliot 188]

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 244 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 23.3 × 16 cm.

Dimensions (written): 16.0 × 11.2 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Layout

19 lines per page.

Ruled in green, gold and black with a blue outer. (4 columns per page). Red rubrications. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Quality: Good. Scribe: Anonymous.

Decoration

Illuminated and illustrated. Five sarlauhs with paintings in pairs just prior to each sarlauh except for the first. The sarlauhs appear on ff.4v, 49v, 102v, 149v, 183v. A total of seven paintings on: ff.48v-49r, 101r (102r is blank), 148v-149r, 182v-183r. These painting are signed by the artist, Farrukh Bayg (ca. 1545-1615).

Additions:

F.4r: the seal of Polier (1181) along with others bearing dates of 1171 and 1163 (Ināyat Aḥmad Khān). An inspection note is dated Ramaḍān 998.

Binding

Dark brown leather, Indian style. Marbled paper doublures. Decorations: Gold inlaid turanj, 2 pendants and corner pieces. Dimensions: 24 × 17.5 × 4 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 361.

History

Origin: Herat; 16 Rabīʿ I 979 AH; 8 Aug 1571 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

Funding of Cataloguing

King's College Cambridge

Subjects

Persian poetry--747-1500

Comments

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