King's Pote 155 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)
Pote Collection
Contents
Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.
Note concerning work: An abridgement by Ghiyāth al-dīn Khwāndamīr of the Rawz̤at al-Ṣafā of Mīrkhwānd. The abridgement was composed in 905/1499. However, the final entry in the text of this manuscript refers to the events of Monday 15 Rajab 930 (19 May 1524) and the enthronement of Shāh Tahmāsp. Comparing King's 155 to the early copy Ayasofya 3190 one finds that the text in f.590r (l.9) to f.612v of King's 155 is an addition. It is possible the author modified the text of his early work later in life, but further research would be required to determine the source of this 'extra' text and to locate other copies.
References
Physical Description
Condition
Layout
21 lines per page.
Ruled in gold with a black outer. Red rubrications. Catchwords.
Hand(s)
Script: early nastaʿlīq. Quality: Fair. Scribe: Anonymous.
Decoration
F.1v: high quality illuminated sarlauh (gold, blue, red).
F.1r: the seal of Polier (1181) and seven other seals (ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Khān [also in King's 85]; another is teardrop shaped, Vafā Khān, slave of the king of the two worlds; another seal is circular, dated 994) and numerous ownership notes (15 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 990 or 950 in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, purchased from Mawlānā Muḥammad the book-seller). For another seal of ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Khān in another high quality manuscript see King's 85 (could this be ʿAbd-al-Raḥīm Khān-e Khānān, bibliophile, general, poet and minister in Akbar's court, d.1036/1627?) Ff.491-9: an impression in the margins in the shape of a leaf (due to a book mark?).
Signs of collation.
Binding
Dark brown leather Indian style, with an envelope flap. Plain paper doublures. Decorations: Gold inlaid turanj and two pendants, cornerpieces and two cartouches. A cartouche with pendants on the spine of the flap. Condition: The text block is split around halfway through. Dimensions: 25.8 × 15 × 7.5 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 365.
History
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
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
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