King's Pote 238 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Shāhnāmah Shāh Ismaʿīl.

Author: Qāsimī Gunābādī, Mīr Muḥammad Qāsim, d. 1574 or 5 مير محمد قاسم قاسمى گنابادى

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Note concerning work: An imitation of the Shāhnāmah of Firdawsī, describing the achievements of the founder of the Ṣafavid dynasty.

References

Browne no. 790

Palmer no. 238

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 pp.660-1 [BL Add. 7784]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.1 p.305

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Papers of different colours: tan, blue, pink, green.

Extent: c. 300 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 24.5 × 14.5 cm.

Dimensions (written): 19 × 9 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Layout

15 lines per page.

Not ruled. Rubrications in red. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: shikasat-nastaʿlīq. Quality: Low quality. Scribe: Anonymous.

Additions:

F.1r: a seal (ʿIbād Allāh, 1188) and many notes. End flyleaf: a seal (Aḥmad Khān, 1186).

Binding

Dark brown leather, Indian style. Plain leather doublures. Decorations: Turanj and two pendants (upper board only). Condition: The upper board is detached. Dimensions: 24.5 × 14 × 4.5 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 589.

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