King's Pote 212 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Zīj Muḥammad Shāhī.

Author: Jay Singh II, Maharaja of Jaypur, 1686-1743 جى سنگه

Title: Zīj Muḥammad Shāhī

Title: زيج محمد شاهى

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: Ends with a table (no colophon).

Note concerning work: Compiled in 1140/1728.

References

Browne no. 742

Palmer no. 212

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 pp.460-1 [BL Add. 14373]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 II.1 p.94 (26ff would mean fragment or epitome)

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.222

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 250 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 17.4 × 19.9 cm.

Dimensions (written): 20.8 × 12.6 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Layout

12 lines per page.

Ruled in double red. Rubrications in red.

Hand(s)

Script: Indian nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions:

F.1r: a note saying that the work was composed on the command of Muḥammad Shāh with a number of named contributors including the teacher of the author. There are many tables in red and black ink and a diagram containing a complex arrangement of circles.

Binding

Brown leather, Indian style. Plain leather doublures. Decorations: Inlaid metal turanj, two pendants and corner pieces, with rulings in gold paint. Dimensions: 26.8 × 19.2 × 4 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 528.

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