King's Pote 47 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Bahādur Shāhnāmah.

Author: Muqarrab Khān Dānishmand Khān مقرّب خان دانشمند خان

Note concerning author: Mīrzā Muḥammad Dānishmand Khān is listed again in Fihrist as Dānishmand Khān.

Title: Bahādur Shāhnāmah

Title: بهادر شاه نامه

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: F.197: an internal colophon (undated).

Note concerning manuscript: F.197 (the final foliated page): an internal colophon. The remainder of the ms (around 50 folios) begins as if this is a different work (or works), and is written in a different hand ( shikasta ). The final 7 folios contains 4 short texts partly written on the diagonal, in different hands.

Note concerning work: History of Bahādur Shāh. The official record of the first two years of the reign of Shāh ʿĀlam Bahādur Shāh.

References

Browne no. 189

Palmer no. 47

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.272a [BL Or. 24]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 I.2 p.1319

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.62

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 250 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 25.5 × 15.5 cm.

Dimensions (written): 17 × 10 cm.

Foliation: Foliated (up until f.172).

Layout

17 lines per page.

Not ruled. Red rubrications.

Hand(s)

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

Additions:

F.2r: the seal of Polier (1181). A note states that transcription began on Tuesday Rabīʿ II (no year) - "this is a reliable ms of the work Shāh ʿĀlam nāmah written by Niʿmat Khān ʿĀlī".

Binding

Marbled paper on leather with leather spine, Indian style. Ochre paper doublures. Condition: Damage to the spine. Dimensions: 25.5 × 15 × 3.5 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 97.

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