King's Pote 214 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Zīj-i Ulugh Bayg.

Author: Ulugh Beg, 1394-1449 الغ بيگ

Note concerning author: Ulugh Bayg was a grandson of Tīmūr.

Title: Zīj-i Ulugh Bayg

Title: زيج الغ بيگ

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: The text ends with a table so there is no colophon.

Note concerning work: Astronomical tables.

References

Browne no. 740

Palmer no. 214

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.455-7 [BL Add. 16742]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 II.1 p.68

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 200 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 24.5 × 17.6 cm.

Dimensions (written): 19.1 × 12.4 cm.

Foliation: Partially foliated.

Condition

Worm and water damage. Some repairs to the margins, particularly in the gutter.

Layout

22 lines per page.

Ruled in double red. Rubrications in red.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Quality: Neat. Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions:

1st flyleaf: notes including dates: 5 Sha'ban 1155 and Ramaḍān 1175. 2nd flyleaf: inspection note dated 5th Dhu al-Hijjah year 5. F.1r: numerous seals and notes all but one erased (Muhammad Quli) and the price of purchase, 70 rupees, from Shahjahanabad. Reverse of final folio: 2 erased seals and a some notes. End flyleaf: a note. The text is dominated by numerous tables in red and black ink. Many marginal notes.

Binding

Plain brown leather, Indian style with an envelope flap. Marbled paper doublures. Condition: The boards are breaking away from the spine and the spine from the textblock. Dimensions: 24.5 × 16.7 × 4.1 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 527.

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