King's Pote 61 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Badāyiʿ al-ʿUqūl.

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: 5 Rabīʿ I, 1198 / 28 Jan 1784 Scribe: Rawshan ʿAlī روشن على .

Note concerning work: Persian version of the Sanskrit Vetāla-pañchavim gaika or Vetala Pancavimsati or Vaitala Pachisi – 25 tales of a demon told to Vikramāditya Śakāri. Of a similar genre is the Singhāsan Battīsī, which is found in King's 221.

References

Browne no. 158

Palmer no. 61

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 150 Folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 22.7 × 20 cm.

Dimensions (written): 16.7 × 12 cm.

Foliation: Neither foliated nor paginated.

Layout

15 lines per page.

Ruled in double red with a blue outer. Rubrications in red. Catchwords.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Rawshan ʿAlī روشن على.

Additions: Notes concerning codex: Inserted among the folios of the codex there is a letter in English with notes by Serge d'Oldenburg [of Leningrad] dated (18)88 concerning: "This is a Persian version of the Sanscrit ... or 25 Tales of a Demon told by him to Vikramaditya …".

Binding

Plain brown leather, European style. Plain paper doublures watermarked. Dimensions: 23 × 20.3 × 1.7 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 89.

History

Origin: 5 Rabīʿ I, 1198 AH; 28 Jan 1784 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