Persian MS 637 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Note that in his handlist, Michael Kerney misinterprets the date as 1111 AH or 1699 CE, which would be in ther reign of ‘Alāmgīr I.
Physical Description
Collation
Catchwords present on the lower-left corners of the b sides throughout.
Condition
Handle text with care. In fair but stable condition with insect damage at the tail edge and historical repairs, especially at the corners throughout.
Layout
Written in 2 columns, with 16 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Mainly ritten in clear minute black nast‘liq.
Replacement folios written in hasty black nast‘liq with shikastah ligtures.
Marginalia: Occasional notes in the margins in a variant hand throughout.
Inscriptions: The second right flyleaf a side (f. iia) bears the title for the anthology in Arabic
‘ قصايد اساتذا’
Inscriptions: The third right flyleaf a side (f. iiia) bears the title for the anthology in Arabic and accession note next to seal no. 4 of Fakhr al-Dīn Aḥmad Khān:
‘ ’
Bookplates: Left doublure, ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with shelf mark ‘1/H’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 318’ with the name and number crossed out, and ‘Persian’ and ‘637’ written aside.
Binding
Probably rebound in a hybrid British-Indian style in Multan for former owner Colonel George William Hamilton.
Repaired, comparatively heavy weight endpapers added to the beginning and end, then resewn at two stations, unsupported. Edges trimmed and chevron endbands of red and green threads twined at head and tail. Covered in full claret-coloured polished goatskin leather over pasteboards with squares along the edges and defined joints but without a flap (Type III binding as per Déroche), with interior doublures lined with the same leather, with their excess widths put down as hinges to connect the cover to the textblock, with strips of paper, zig-zag cut along one edge applied over top to disguise the joins.
Spine bears the title in yellow nasta‘līq. Board edges and spine dyed dark brown outline with yellow double ruled lines on either side.
236 × 138 × 24 mm.
Binding in good condition with scuffed exterior and opening to gutter margins restricted.
1: Rectangular seal impression ofthe library of Nāṣir al-Dīn Ḥaydar Shāh (b. 1803 r. 1827–1837) dated AH 1244 (1828–29 CE), inscribed with his title Sulaymān Jāh:
‘ خوش است مهر کتبخانه سلیمان جاه * بهر کتاب مزین چو نقش بسم الله، ١٢۴۴’
‘Khvush ast muhur-i kitābkhānah-'i Sulaymān Jāh bahr-i kitāb; muzayyin chaw naqsh-i basmallah, 1244’ (‘The seal of the library of Sulaymān Jāh is good; it embellishes the book like the design of a basmallah, 1244’).
17 × 37 mm.
2:Rectangular seal impression, surmounted by the royal emblem of Awadh, of Amjad ‘Alī Shāh (b. 1801, r. 1842–1847) dated AH 1260 (1844–45 CE):
‘ ناسخ هر مهر شد چون شد مزین بر کتاب * خاتم امجد علی شاه زمان عالیجناب، ١٢٦٠ ’
‘Nāsukh har muhur shud chun shud muzayyin bar kitāb; khātim-i Amjad ‘Alī Shāh zamān-i ‘Ālījanāb, 1260’ (‘Every [prior] seal became cancelled since the book became embellished by the seal of Amjad ‘Alī Shāh in the era of his Sublime Majesty, 1260’).
53 × 45 mm.
3: Rectangular seal impression surmounted by the royal emblem Awadh, of Wājid ‘Alī Shāh King of Awadh (b. 1822, r. 1847–1856) dated 1262 AH (1846–47 CE):
‘ خاتم واجد علی سلطان عالم بر کتاب * ثابت و پر نور بادا تا فروغ آفتاب، ١٢۶۲ ’
‘Khātim-i Wājid ‘Alī, Sulṭān-i ‘Ālam bar kitāb, s̄abit va pur nūr bādā tā farūgh-i āftāb, 1262’ (‘The seal of Wājid ‘Alī, Sulṭān of the World, upon the book shall be permanent and as bright as sunlight, 1262 AH [1847 CE]’).
41 × 26 mm.
4: Also on folio 1a a small, faint, black rectangular seal impression, intaglio carved in two stacked nasta‘līq lines, single-ruled, of Fakhr al-Dīn Aḥmad Khān dated [1]118 AH (1706–1707 CE):
12 × 15 mm.
History
Possibly completed by in the Indian subcontinent undated but probably 17th century CE.
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently owned by one Fakhr al-Dīn Aḥmad Khān as per his notations and seal dated [1]118 AH (1706–1707 CE).
Thereafter accessioned into the royal library of the Kings of Awadh, possibly held in the Moti Mahal Palace, then later transferred to the Qaisarbagh Palace as indicated by a dated library notation on folio 1a, and seal impressions of Nāṣir al-Dīn Ḥaydar Shāh (b. 1803, r. 1827–1837), Amjad ‘Alī Shāh (b. 1801, r. 1842–1847), and Wājid ‘Alī Shāh (b. 1822, r. 1847–1856). Presumably looted during India's First War of Independence, when British soldiers ransacked the Qaisarbagh palace and library on 15 March 1858 (see Wolseley's memoir).
Subsequently acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi. He acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, from which the British Museum purchased 352 from his widow, Charlotte Logie Hamilton (1817–1893), now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), purchased the remainder in 1868 for 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.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on an index created by Reza Navabpour circa 1993, derived from a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s, concisely published as Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description and corrections by Jake Benson in 2025 with reference to the manuscript 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 Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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