RSPA 116 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)
India Office Library
Jones Collection
Royal Society Arabic and Persian
Contents
1 copy of Qaṣīdat al-Burdah by Sharaf al-Dīn Muhammad ibn Saʿīd al-Shanhājī al-Būṣīrī
Language(s): Arabic
Jones has written on f1r in Arabic script "min baḥr al-basīṭ", which was taken by Wilkins as the title of the work and it is under this name it appears in his catalogue. This actually means "in the basīṭ metre", which is the metre of the poem.
Physical Description
European numerals in pencil.
Condition
The manuscript is in very good condition. There is some (presumably worm) damage but this has largely been repaired such that what were clearly once quite large holes are no longer present.
Layout
Very neat layout of eight lines in one column per page.
Hand(s)
Excellent large calligraphic black naskh script.
Decoration
Gold and blue floral heading on f1v. Opening (ff1v-2r) decorated with gilded leaf design in margins. At the end of the poem, there is a golden illuminated endpiece.
Ruled gilt margins. Verse markers are also gilded. The verses are outlined by a thin cloud-shaped gilded line.
Jones infrequently highlights sections of the poem with a curly bracket (e.g. f8r), writes out the metre of the poem (e.g. f8v) or translates individual words (e.g. f2v). There is at least one other hand that has written a marginal note on f3r.
Binding
Standard India Office half leather binding with marbled wine-colour end papers.
Accompanying Material
History
Provenance and Acquisition
RSPA 1-118 were presented to the Royal Society in January 1792 by Sir William and Lady Jones. According to Wilkins, this manuscript was presented by Lady Jones.
The Royal Society's collection of 280 Persian and Arabic, and 86 Sanskrit manuscripts were transferred to the India Office Library in 1876.
1876
India Office Library
Record Sources
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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