RSPA 51 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)
India Office Library
Jones Collection
Royal Society Arabic and Persian
Contents
1 copy of Kulliyāt-i ʿUrfī by Muḥammad ʿUrfī Shīrāzī
Language(s): Persian
Due to wear-and-tear, parts of the manuscript are illegible, including a part of the explicit.
The manuscript is made up of different sections, occasionally with individual headpieces (e.g. f86v, f272v, f299v). Ff1-85r, qaṣīdahs; ff86v-213, ghazals followed by rubāʿiyyāt until f227r; between f227v and f272r, Majmūʿ al-Akbar; Kitāb-i Khusraw va Shīrīn ff272v-285v; between ff286v-298v, muqaṭṭaʿāt; ff299v-303v prose. The manuscript ends abruptly in the middle of one of these prose pieces.
There are several seals on the title pages of the individual sections (e.g. f85v-86r, f286r) before the new headpieces. All of these have been effaced or have faded away into total illegibility.
Physical Description
European numerals in pencil.
Condition
Supports and guards. Considerable damage and discolouration.
Layout
Hand(s)
Neat but minute black ink nastaʿlīq script.
Decoration
On f1r, Jones has written, "W Jones. Bought at Calcutta, 12th November 1783, 20Rs"
Binding
Standard India Office half-leather binding with wine-coloured marbled endpapers.
Accompanying Material
History
Provenance and Acquisition
RSPA 1-118 were presented to the Royal Society in January 1792 by Sir William and Lady Jones. Wilkins did not note which of them presented this manuscript to the Royal Society.
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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