King's Pote 170 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Dīvān Ṣāʾib.

Author: Ṣāʾib Tabrīzī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, d. ca. 1670 صائب تبريزى، محمد على

Title: Dīvān Ṣāʾib

Title: ديوان صائب

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

References

Browne no. 571

Palmer no. 170

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 pp.693-5 [BL Add. 7806]

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.427

A catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the library of the University of Cambridge, E. Browne (1896) p.380, no. 296 [Camb. Add. 805]

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 200 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 23.5 × 12.9 cm.

Dimensions (written): 17 × 8.5 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Condition

Severe water damage has smudged the ink, mainly that of marginal comments but also some in the main text, e.g. on f.1v.

Layout

16 lines per page.

Ruled in black-outlined gold. Gold separates every hemistich.

Hand(s)

Script: shikasta. Quality: Neat. Scribe: Anonymous.

Decoration

F.1v: an illuminated sarlauh in gold and burgundy; interlinear gold; floral decorations in margin (f.1v only). Gold floral patterns in the central column and in separators between the poems throughout.

Additions:

F.1r: the seal of Polier (1181). Many marginal notes (often in the scribe's hand) frequently smudged due to water damage.

Binding

Reddish brown, European style. Plain leather doublures. Decorations: Gold inlaid turanj with two pendants, corner pieces and an outer border of cartouches and corner pieces. Dimensions: 24 × 13.5 × 3.3 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 398.

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