Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

King's Pote 72 (King's College Library, King's College Cambridge)

Pote Collection

Contents

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of al-ʿIqd al-Fākhir al-Ḥasan fī Ṭabaqāt Aʿyān Ahl al-Yaman.
Language(s): Arabic

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

Colophon further notes: Incomplete so there is no colophon.

Note concerning manuscript: Judging from the hand this is quite an old manuscript (9th/15th century?).

Note concerning work: A biography of notable personages of Yaman. This manuscript contains chapters xvii-xxx, letters ظ to the end, which is approximately the second half of the work in the 4 volume edition of al-ʿAbbādī et al. (2009) entitled al-ʿIqd al-fākhir al-ḥasan. The editors believe Sana'a, Great Mosque 136 is the autograph of parts 3 & 4 of 4, which would overlap with the King's manuscript.

References

Geschichte der arabischen Literatur C. Brockelmann 1892-1902 (2 vols. plus supplements) GAL II.184-5 (with different title: Ṭirāz aʿlām al-zaman fī ṭabaqāt aʿyān al-yaman); GAL Supp. II.238
Supplement to the catalogue of the Arabic manuscripts in the British Museum, C. Rieu (1894) p.454 [BL Or. 2425 (900H, concludes partway through the alphabetic section, ending with letter ḥāʾ, so contains around the first third of the work - folios measure 26x16.5 with frame 22.5x13 and 25 lines per page)]

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: 169 Folios (but no f.66).
Dimensions (leaf): 32.2 × 25.3 cm.
Dimensions (written): 28.5 × 19.5 cm.
Foliation: Foliated.

Condition

The margins have been severely trimmed.

Layout

37 lines per page.

Not ruled. Rubrications in red and black.

Hand(s)

Script: naskh. Quality: Fine, clear and rather old (9th century?). Scribe: Anonymous.

Decoration

F.1v: a full-page decoration in red black and tan (a central circle with panels above and below and two medallions on the gutter side).

Additions:

F.1r: numerous seals with inspection notes but mostly covered by another page of paper (legible with backlighting; including a possession note dated 1129). F.2r: four seals in the margins including a circular seal inscribed Murād mīkhāham az Muḥammad ("I seek satisfaction [of my petition] from Muḥammad") and a circular seal for Muḥammad Ḥasan ibn Shaykh Muḥammad Yūsuf, dated 1084, alongside an inspection note dated 25 Muḥarram 1084, with another inspection note dated 5 Shaʿbān, year 16. F.17r: two identical circular seals ( al-wāfiq al-qudūs..., dated 107*). The manuscript contains marginal notes.

Signs of collation.

Binding

Tan suede, European style. Plain paper doublures (watermarked: "WHATMAN"). Condition: Rodent (?) damage at one corner. The final two quires are loose. Dimensions: 33 × 25.5 × 4.7 cm. Boxed. Polier's number: 167.

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

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

Funding of Cataloguing

King's College Cambridge


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