King's Pote 245 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of al-Hidāyah (Persian paraphrase and explanation).

Author: Marghīnānī, ʿAlī ibn Abī Bakr, d. 1196 or 7 المرغيناني، علي بن ابي بكر

Commentator and Translator: ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Sirhindī عبد الحق سرهندى

Title: al-Hidāyah (Persian paraphrase and explanation)

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: 8 Muḥarram 1087 (18th year of Aurangzeb) / 23 Mar 1676 Scribe: Sayyid Muḥammad سيد محمد .

Colophon further notes: The composition of vol. 1 was completed in 22 Rajab 1082 (five years prior to this copy).

Note concerning work: Persian paraphrase begun in 1082/1671-2 and completed in 1087/1676-7.

References

Browne no. 1367

Palmer no. 245

Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the library of the India Office (2 vols.) H. Ethé 1903-37 col.1397, no. 2593 [BL IO Islamic 361]

Geschichte der arabischen Literatur C. Brockelmann 1892-1902 (2 vols. plus supplements) GAL I.376; GAL Supp. I.644

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.8

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: 239 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 25 × 17 cm.

Dimensions (written): 20.5 × 12 cm.

Foliation: Foliated.

Condition

Water damage. Some repairs to the margins.

Layout

19 lines per page.

Not ruled. Rubrications in red. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Sayyid Muḥammad سيد محمد.

Additions:

F.1r: more than 10 seals (most erased; 2 different seals of Luṭf Allāh one of which is repeated on the final folio, heart shaped) with notes. An acquistion note: 5 rupees in 7 Shaʿbān 1144.

Binding

Marbled paper on suede with a suede spine, European style. Plain paper doublures (watermarked: L with C combined with V with inverted V and triangle above). Dimensions: 25.5 × 17 × 3.2 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 622.

History

Origin: 8 Muḥarram 1087 (18th year of Aurangzeb) AH; 23 Mar 1676 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