Persian MS 945 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
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Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Summary of Contents: An unidentified scribed finished this nearly complete Dīvān of Ḥāfiẓ (ca. 1315–1390) in Herat in 937 AH (1530 CE). This volume contains most of the ghazal lyric poems but omits quatrains typically found in other copies. It also features a lavishly illuminated opening folios, headers, and margins, as well as four illustrations.Physical Description
Form: codexSupport: Textblock of cross-grained, externally sized and polished, ivoury-coloured paper probably handmade in the Safavid Empire with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines. Subsequently remargined when rebound in the 19th century.Extent: 214 folios, 2 flyleaves (ff. ii + 214 + i).Dimensions (leaf): 137 × 86 mm.Dimensions (written): 86 × 41 mm.Layout
written in 1 and 2 columns with 12 lines per page
Hand(s)
Copied in clear black nasta‘līq with red subheaders.
Decoration
The volume bears sumptuously illuminated opening pages, subheaders, and margins. Four illustrations attributed by B. W. Robinson to Shiraz in the 1580s.
Illustrations:
- Folio
- Folio
- Folio
- Folio
Illumination:
Ruling: Margins ruled in wide gold outlined in
Binding
19th c lacquer binding from Iran. two sewing stations trimmed, chevron endbands. pink-red and green chevron endbands twined at head and tail.. gold-spattered over marbled papers flyleaves, painted doublures.
× × mm.
History
Origin:Provenance and Acquisition
The circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, but subsequently acquired by Dr David Lloyd Roberts (1835-1920) of Manchester.
After Robert's death, bequeathed to the John Rylands Library in 1921.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description derived from B. W. Robinson, Persian Paintings in the John Rylands Library: A Descriptive Catalogue, published in 1980, and a 1993 essay published by Tawfiq Subhani.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2023, with reference to the volume.
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
Ḥāfiẓ, Persian Lyrics or Scattered Poems from the Diwan-i-Hafiz: With Paraphrases in Verse and Prose a Catalogue of the Gazels As Arranged in a Manuscript of the Works of Hafiz in the Chetham Library at Manchester and Other Illustrations. Translated by John Haddon Hindley London: Printed at the Oriental Press by Wilson & Co, 1800.Ḥāfiẓ, The Dīvān Translated by Col. W. H. Clarke, 2 Vols. Calcutta: Government of India Central Printing Office, 1891.D. N. Marshall, Mughals in India: A Bibliographical Survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1962), p. 168, no. 561.C. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. II (London: British Museum, 1881), pp. 627–632 [British Library Add. 7759, &c].B. W. Robinson, Persian Paintings in the John Rylands Library: A Descriptive Catalogue (London: Sotheby Parke Bennet, 1980), pp. 221–223, nos. 652–655.E. Sachau and H. Ethé, Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstani, and Pushtû manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889), cols. 578–592, nos. 815–853 [Bodleian MS Ouseley 148, &c.].Tawfīq Subḥānī, 'Kitāb'hā-yi khaṭṭī-i Fārsī fihrist nashudah dar Kitābkhānah Jān Rāylāndz, Manchistir' Majallah-'i Dānishkadah-i Adabiyāt va ‘Ulūm-i Insānī n.s., Vol. 1, Nos. 2-3 (1372 SH [1993 CE]): p. 165, no. 4.Funding of Cataloguing
The John Rylands Research Institute and Library
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
Subjects
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