Eton Pote 258(2) (Eton College Library, Eton College)

Pote Collection

Summary of Contents: 1 copy of Shāhnāmah.

Author: Firdawsī فردوسی

Title: Shāhnāmah

Title: شاهنامه

Language(s): Persian

Colophon details: Date: Undated Scribe: Anonymous.

References

Margoliouth no. 118 (shelf/item: 9/8)

Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (3 vols.) C. Rieu 1879-1883 p.533 [BL Add. 21103]

Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the library of the India Office (2 vols.) H. Ethé 1903-37 col.546, no. 860 [BL IO Islamic 2118]

Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library E. Sachau and H. Ethé 1889 col.450, no. 493 [Bodl. Elliot 325]

Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Part III A.F.L. Beeston 1954 p.21 no. 2537 [Bodl. Ms. Pers. D. 44]

Persian Literature: a bio-bibliographical survey C. A. Storey 1927–39 V.1 p.130 (second half - modern)

Mughals in India: a bibliographical survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts D.N. Marshall 1962 p.147

A catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the library of the University of Cambridge, E. Browne (1896) p.286, no. 196 [Camb. Nn. 1.20]

Physical Description

Form: codex

Extent: c. 250 folios.

Dimensions (leaf): 30.3 × 20 cm.

Dimensions (written): 20.5 × 13 cm.

Foliation: Not foliated or paginated.

Layout

23 lines per page.

Ruled in gold and blue. 4 columns (with columnar ruling also in gold). Rubrications in red.

Hand(s)

Script: nastaʿlīq. Scribe: Anonymous.

Decoration

F.1v: illuminated sarlauh ; ff.1v-2r interlinear gold; around halfway through (start of vol. 4): illuminated sarlauh with an opening using interlinear gold.

Additions:

F.1r: unusual large seal of Polier (1181; devotee of Padshah Ghazi Shāh ʿĀlam, year 9) with a note saying second part of the Shahnameh (as a gift) for Polier. (Colas & Richard record an undated version of this seal in Paris BNF Sanscrit 792-794).

Notes concerning codex: Contains volumes 3 and 4 of 4.

Binding

Reddish brown leather, Indian style. A gold inlayed turanj , pendants and corner pieces. Marbled paper doublures. Dimensions: 30.5 × 20.5 × 4 cm. Unboxed. Polier's number: 590.

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 second half alphabetically going to Eton. 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 D.S. Margoliouth, Catalogue of the Oriental Manuscripts in the Library of Eton College, Oxford, 1904 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