Persian MS 993 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
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Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Summary of Contents: This anonymous work entitled Dastān Sayyid Maḥmūd , (Story of Sayyid Maḥmūd) appears likely completed in 19th-century Qājār-era Irān. Clearly written on every other folio, with ink transfer on the blank pageopposite suggests the author employed the blank pages as blotting paper, and did not fill the entire volume. The exterior cover bears the title Sultanpur, but this appears unrelated to the text. It suggests that the volume may have originated as a decorated blank book that the author coopted to write this story.Author and Translator: AnonymousTitle: Dāstān-i Sayyid MaḥmūdTitle: داستان سید محمودIncipit: (basmala) برگ ۱پ (Folio 1b): حمد لايق ذو الجلال پاک است * شد کزو بر آب خاک است.Explicit: گفت میخواهی چو پی افزود کماست *داستان سید محمود ماست | باد یا رب در جناب او قبول * طرز فکرم سهر چنین و تبو.Colophon: تمام شد.Colophon: Uninformative colophonLanguage(s): PersianThis work awaits identification.
Physical Description
Form: codexSupport: Textblock of heavy-weight, cross-grained, ivory-coloured, calendered machine-made European wove paper.Extent: Undetermined number of folios, 5 flyleaves (ff. iii + ? + ii).Dimensions (leaf): 202 × 134 mm.Dimensions (written): 150 × 105 mm.Foliation: Unfoliated.Collation
Undetermined. No catchwords.Condition
Text in good condition.Layout
Written in 2 columns with 8–9 lines per page. Unruled.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq.
Additions:
Inscriptions: The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) signed by former owner ‘J. A. Boyle,
London, Nov. 30 1947’.
Binding
Bound in a late 19th century British style binding.
Sewn on 3 recessed cords, laced into pasteboards, edges trimmed, marbled, and polished. False machine-made red and green endbands applied at head and tail. Covered in half maroon calfskin leather with two false bands on the Spine, and marbled paper sides and interior endpapers that match the edges, so produced by the same workshop, in-house. It may be a private commision for the author, who then used it for another purpose.
Spine decorated titled ‘SULTANPUR’ on the spine.
209 × 141 × 18 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In fair but stable condition, with extensive abrasion to the paper and leather along the spine and board edges. Opening to the gutter margins restricted.
History
Origin: Possibly completed in Greater Iran undated, but possibly late 18th to early 19th century.Provenance and Acquisition
While the circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, University of Manchester Professor J. A. Boyle (1916–1978) subsequently acquired it from an unidentified source in London on 30 Nov. 1947.
Bequeathed by J. A. Boyle to the University of Manchester, Feb. 1990.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description derived from an unpublished handlist of additional Persian manuscripts.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2024 , 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
Soudavar Memorial Foundation and The John Rylands Research Institute
The John Rylands Research Institute and Library
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
Subjects
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