King's Pote 20 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Aḥwāl-i Bībī Julyānā.

Language(s): Arabic

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Note concerning manuscript: An anonymous, fairly complete 15-page English translation, in a cursive hand on European paper, is found in an A4 sized envelope without classmark in the King's Pote collection (stored separately from the manuscript).

Note concerning work: From the introduction it can be deduced that the work was composed in 1187/1773-4 for Jean Baptiste Gentil. Palmer produced a French translation in 1865, based upon the King's manuscript (see reference in Palmer's catalogue and in Rieu, p.823): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k69951r/f165.image.

References

Browne no. 16

Palmer no. 20

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.822 [BL Add. 14374]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.2 p.1163 (French translation was made on basis of this ms: Histoire de Donna Juliana… by Edward Palmer)

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.149

Palmer’s French translation of the book

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Hand-made paper, cream, rather thin. Pristine condition. Moderately burnished.

Extent: 20 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 22.1 × 14.8 cm.

Dimensions (written): 15.6 × 9.6 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Layout

12 lines per page.

Ruled in double red with a blue outer. Red rubrications. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: Indian nastaʿlīq. Quality: Ordinary. Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions:

Flyleaf: the collation of quires is given in a note in English in the hand of Henry Bradshaw.

Binding

European style, plain dark red leather binding. Doublures: European paper with watermark of "C. TAYLOR". Dimensions: 22.4 × 14.7 × 1.2 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 4.

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