Indian Drawings 11 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Album of fifty folios of paintings and calligraphy.
Contents
137 × 80 mm. 163 × 104 mm. Lower-right corner delaminating. Impey seal at bottom.
190 × 103 mm. 211 × 125 mm.
52 × 124 mm. 78 × 150 mm. Gold-flecked mount. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
220 × 153 mm. 240 × 173 mm.
Green ground friable. discolouration of the lead white at the tail edge.
51 × 125 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Gold-flecked mount. Rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
217 × 134 mm. 239 × 156 mm.
Same painter as folio 3b.
177 × 122 mm. 197 × 140 mm.
Single-sided folio with Impey seal on the reverse. Applied border unembellished.
160 × 132 mm. 178 × 150 mm.
52 × 125 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Gold-flecked mount. Rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
200 × 135 mm. 220 × 155 mm.
Same artist as folios 3b and 4b.
52 × 124 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
51 × 124 mm. 74 × 148 mm. Gold-flecked mount. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
128 × 93 mm. 148 × 113 mm.
50 × 123 mm. 77 × 150 mm. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
200 × 138 mm. 219 × 155 mm.
50 × 123 mm. 77 × 148 mm. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
158 × 95 mm. 177 × 115 mm. 199 × 135 mm.
50 × 123 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
182 × 95 mm. 205 × 135 mm.
50 × 123 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
219 × 135 mm. 240 × 157 mm.
219 × 135 mm. 240 × 157 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
142 × 230 mm. 160 × 223 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise.
142 × 230 mm. 160 × 223 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
52 × 123 mm. 78 × 152 mm. Rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
134 × 90 mm. 156 × 113 mm.
in fair condition with losses in the friable paint layer.
50 × 124 mm. 75 × 149 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
156 × 73 mm. 178 × 93 mm.
in fair condition with losses in the friable paint layer.
156 × 87 mm. 180 × 113 mm. Impey seal at bottom. The first two lines by the poet only.
143 × 82 mm. 164 × 104 mm.
52 × 124 mm. 78 × 150 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
108 × 70 mm. 129 × 90 mm.
51 × 121 mm. 75 × 145 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
177 × 118 mm. 198 × 136 mm.
132 × 90 mm. 157 × 115 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
127 × 78 mm. 147 × 100 mm.
48 × 34 mm. 68 × 54 mm. 88 × 74 mm.
175 × 90 mm. 199 × 113 mm. Impey seal at bottom. The surface bears paint transferred from a painting originally opposite.
51 × 124 mm. 75 × 150 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Mount gold-flecked. Impey seal at bottom.
168 × 103 mm. 190 × 124 mm.
177 × 118 mm. 198 × 136 mm.
51 × 124 mm. 74 × 148 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Mount gold-flecked. Impey seal at bottom.
148 × 100 mm. 168 × 122 mm.
The colophon is written on a different paper from the finely combed marbled ground of the main composition above it.
133 × 104 mm. 31 × 104 mm. 188 × 126 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
187 × 115 mm. 208 × 136 mm. Her necklace is composed of real seed pearls.
177 × 110 mm. 195 × 129 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
121 × 72 mm. 143 × 92 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
148 × 75 mm. 173 × 98 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
56 × 44 mm. 165 × 104 mm. 186 × 125 mm. Signed ‘Anūp Kar’. Interior painting within an oval, executed on pale brown gold-flecked paper
140 × 78 mm. 160 × 98 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
51 × 124 mm. 76 × 149 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Mount gold-flecked. Impey seal at bottom.
203 × 133 mm. 25 × 155 mm.
145 × 69 mm. 167 × 90 mm.
Single-sided folio, Impey seal on the obverse. Applied border unembellished.
51 × 124 mm. 78 × 150 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º clockwise. Mount gold-flecked. Impey seal at bottom.
158 × 105 mm. 178 × 125 mm.
137 × 80 mm. 162 × 105 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
98 × 58 mm. 120 × 80 mm.
118 × 48 mm. 141 × 73 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
115 × 63 mm. 138 × 85 mm.
52 × 125 mm. 75 × 149 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom.
156 × 78 mm. 174 × 98 mm.
145 × 102 mm. 163 × 122 mm.
Single sided, with Impey seal on obverse. Border unembellished.
52 × 125 mm. 78 × 149 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at top.
148 × 84 mm. 168 × 105 mm.
105 × 74 mm. 155 × 113 mm. 179 × 142 mm.
Single sided, with Impey seal on obverse. Interior border illuminated with foliate scrollwork, but the exterior border remains unembellished.
113 × 73 mm. 113 × 93 mm.
Single-sided, with Impey seal on obverse. No caption. Border unembellished.
156 × 88 mm. 180 × 110 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
172 × 107 mm. 198 × 127 mm.
123 × 84 mm. 150 × 110 mm.
Single sided, with Impey seal on obverse. Border unembellished.
188 × 125 mm. 210 × 145 mm. Single sided, with Impey seal on obverse. Border unembellished.
138 × 70 mm. 150 × 93 mm. Impey seal at bottom.
148 × 78 mm. 179 × 100 mm.
146 × 103 mm. 165 × 122 mm.
Single-sided, with Impey seal on obverse. No caption. Border unembellished.
177 × 112 mm. 200 × 135 mm.
Single-sided, with Impey seal on reverse. No caption. Border unembellished.
160 × 74 mm. 180 × 95 mm.
Single-sided, with Impey seal on reverse. No caption. Border unembellished. Signed Mashq-i Abū al-Ḥasan.
52 × 125 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Impey seal at bottom. Gold-flecked mount.
113 × 73 mm. 136 × 95 mm.
Uncaptioned.
52 × 124 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º clockwise. Impey seal at bottom. Gold-flecked mount.
115 × 86 mm. 133 × 105 mm.
Uncaptioned.
52 × 125 mm. 75 × 148 mm. Landscape format, rotated 90º counter-clockwise. Title written with gilt traingles in the corners. Impey seal at bottom. Gold-flecked mount.
145 × 110 mm. 165 × 132 mm.
Uncaptioned.
166 × 112 mm. 186 × 132 mm.
Single-sided, with Impey seal on reverse. No caption. Border unembellished. Signed Mashq-i Abū al-Ḥasan.
Physical Description
Watermark: 43 × 153 mm.
Collation
Condition
Decoration
Margins: Most folios bear applied margins of dark indigo blue paper that measure an average of ~11 mm in width, embellished with floriate scrollwork in gold.
Ruling: The margins of all items uniformly ruled in gold, outlined with thin black single interior and double exterior lines, with the exterior margins in comparatively narrow gold lines outlined with single thin black lines, with some of the latter trimmed off when rebound by Faulkner
Binding
Bound in a British-style stubbed album structure by H. Faulkner, ‘George Court, Adelphi’ as per his ticket on the final left flyleaf a side (f. iva). Probably either Henry Faulkner Sr (fl. ca. 1790–1812) or Henry Jr. (fl. 1815–1825). All items attached to paper compensation guards with interleaving. Sewn on four recessed cords. Bright blue paste papers added to the beginning and end. Edges trimmed and gilt, with the original front-bead decorative endbands sewn in white, blue, and red silk threads at head and tail.
Spine bears four false bands.
333 × 285 × 78 mm.
Binding in good condition. Recently repaired on the exterior joints with Japanese paper.
Binding subsequently repaired by library conservators, with new front-bead endbands in white thread and Japanese paper on the exterior joints.
Rectangular seal impressions, intaglio carved in nasta‘līq script in two stacked lines, double-ruled, of former owner Sir Elijah Impey (1732–1809), dated 1775, along with a regnal year 16 of George III, King of Great Britain (b. 1738, r. 1760–1820) reads from bottom upwards:
‘ سر ایلاجه ایمپی چیف جستس سنه ۱۶، ۱۷۷۵
(Sir Īlāhah Īmpī Chīf Justis, sanah 16, 1775).’
Dimensions: 19 × 26 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
London firm of Harry Phillips (d. 1840) sold Impey's collection 21 May 1810; however, others also acquired albums from him before he departed India, and possibly after—his return to Britain, so whether this volume sold at that sale remains unclear.
Later acquired by scholar Nathaniel Bland (1803–1865) from an unidentified source for his library at Randalls Park, Leatherhead.
After Bland's death, London bookseller Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) sold his oriental manuscripts to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) in June, 1866, paid in two instalments of £450 and £400, and then moved to Bibliotheca Lindesiana at Haigh Hall, Wigan.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913).
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1908 to the John Rylands Library, Manchester.
Persian MS 51A
Additional Information
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2025 with reference to the volume in hand.
Availability
To book an in-person or online appointment to consult the manuscript, visit Using the Special Collections Reading Rooms. For any other enquiries please email uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk.
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
The John Rylands Research Institute
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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