IO Islamic 4069 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)
Irvine Collection
Goy va chaugan of 'Arifi
Contents
1 copy of Ḥāl'nāmah by ʿĀrifī Hiravī
Complete masnavi by the poet 'Arifi, with illumination, 2 illustrations, and fine calligraphy throughout. Damaged.
Colophon (f. 22r) damaged, dated to 979/1571-2, signed by ʿAlī Riz̤āʾ al-Kātib
Annotations (f. 1r): 1) ‘Gui i Chaugan (masnavi) by Zahīr ud-Din Harawi’; 2) valuation note in fine nastaʿlīq: ‘khaṭṭ, avval’
Annotations (f. 22v): 1) ‘matn’ (centre); 2) inspection note: ‘hafdahum-i Z̲ī Qaʿdah-'i sanah 5 ʿarz̤-i dīdah shud ṣ[aḥīḥ]’ (middle, right edge); 3) descriptive note in good nastaʿlīq written obliquely: ‘[g]ūy va [chaw]gān bar kāghaz̲-i khiṭāʾī-yi afshān-i chahārdah saṭrī ba-khaṭṭ-i avval, sarlawḥ-i lājvard va... khūrd va kalān-i alvān munaqqash-i ṭilā bar ḥāshiyah-'i kalā... kunj va turunj-i alvān munaqqash-i ṭilā, jadval-i ṭilā va rang, baʿd-i shish varq bar yak-taṣvīr naqsh-i ʿimārat-i lājvardī [kitabah]-'i masnad-i shahi[nsh]ah-i sabz pūsh, taṣvīr-i dīgar rū ba-rū va surkh pūsh... sitādah ba-dast yak-taṣvīr...’ (top right), ‘marqūm ba-khaṭṭ-i ʿAlī Riz̤āʾ’ (left), ... [erased raqam valuation] (below)
Far too fragile for public access
Copied from an original =-=-=-=-
Physical Description
Recto/verso disposition lost; original foliation lost in most cases
Condition
Very poor condition
Paper brittle
Large sections at the centre of most folios affected by worm holes, resulting in loss of text
Pigments faded, oxidised, and some flaking
Layout
Rubrics in centered cartouches
Hand(s)
Fine calligraphic nastaʿlīq
Decoration
Coloured and gilt ruled borders (jadāval); zar afshān or gold sprinkled over text panels; illuminated rectangular units either side of ʿunāvīn or rubrics; text before paintings arranged in angular designs, with illuminated triangular units above and below
Central shamsah: circular, annular, protruding spokes in blue. Background: faded gold floral scroll (tashʿīr sāzī)
Illuminated sar lawḥ and ʿunvān
Illuminated rectangular units either side of ʿunvān in blue and gold arabesque
King of China seated in a pavilion with an ascetic youth, in a fenced garden enclosure. Painted in a naive version of the Bukhara style. Unsigned.
Illuminated rectangular units either side of ʿunvān in blue and gold arabesque
Mature man offers youthfull polo player a golden ball infront of onlookers. Painted in a naive version of the Bukhara style. Unsigned.
Illuminated rectangular sections above and below colophon, with painted and gilt arabesque
Background: faded gold floral scroll tashʿīr sāzī
Binding
Board covered with waxed marbled paper; cloth tape over spine. Gilt lettering on spine reads: Guy u Chaugan.
Kept separately with detached folios in box
History
Availability
Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.
Funding of Cataloguing
BL
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