King's Pote 18 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Akhbār al-Akhyār fī Asrār al-Abrār.

Author: ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq ibn Sayf al-dīn Dihlavī, 1551-1642 الدهلوي، عبد الحق بن سيف الدين، 959-1052 هـ

Title: Akhbār al-Akhyār fī Asrār al-Abrār

Title: اخبار الاخيار فى اسرار الابرار

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Jumādā II, 1109 / Dec 1697- Jan 1698 Scribe: Muḥammad Arzānī محمد ارزانى .

Note concerning manuscript: Initial 2 folios: a scribbled table of contents (with page numbers).

Note concerning work: A biography of saints.

References

Browne no. 22

Palmer no. 18

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.355 [BL Or. 221]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.2 p.979 (1109H)

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.7

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 261 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 23 × 13.5 cm.

Dimensions (written): 18 × 9 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Layout

21 lines per page.

Not ruled. Red rubrications.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Quality: Poor. Scribe: Muḥammad Arzānī محمد ارزانى.

Additions:

Signs of collation.

Binding

Reddish brown leather, Indian style. Cardboard doublures. Decorations: Gold inlaid turanj and two pendants. Condition: Repaired. Dimensions: 22.8 × 13.2 × 3.5 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 7.

History

Origin: Jumādā II, 1109 AH; Dec 1697- Jan 1698 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