King's Pote 187 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Dānish-nāmah-yi Jahān.

Author: Ḥusaynī Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī ibn ʿAlī Amīrān, active 15th century حسيني اصفهاني، علي بن علي اميران

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: 5 Jumādā II 1137 / 19 Feb 1725 Scribe: Muḥammad ʿĀrif محمد عارف .

Colophon further notes: A note below the colophon names the scribe and states the manuscript was commissioned by Sulṭān Qulī Khān.

Note concerning work: A Persian encyclopaedia of sciences.

References

Browne no. 470

Palmer no. 187

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.439b [BL Add. 16829]

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 189 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 18.5 × 10.8 cm.

Dimensions (written): 13.5 × 6.5 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Layout

14 lines per page.

Not ruled. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Muḥammad ʿĀrif محمد عارف.

Binding

Plain reddish brown leather, European style. Plain paper doublures. Dimensions: 19.3 × 10.7 × 2.2 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 384.

History

Origin: 5 Jumādā II 1137 AH; 19 Feb 1725 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