Persian MS 229 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
For another copy of this work held in the Rylands, see Persian MS 944, also the first work within a Khamsah (Quintet), Persian MS 227, and a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones), Persian MS 949.
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 to 2 columns with 14 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq with red subheaders.
Decoration
Illumination: Folio 1b bears a scalloped domed headpiece with gilt palmette foliate scrollwork on an ultramarine ground and an uninscribed central cartouche, and five vertical radiating lines.
Ruling: Text margins ruled in gold outlined with single internal and double external thin black lines, with internal verdigris green and red single lines, and surrounded by blue single lines.
Inscriptions:
- The right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears .
- Folios 1a inscribed with .
- Top: A pasted catalogue entry cut from :
‘273 SELSELET ALZEHEB- The Chain of Gold, by Jamy; small folio, pp 472, by the poet Jamy: a correct and ancient copy very well written, ruled beauti-
fully with gold and colours; all the parts complete, with separate Anwans.’
- Middle: Bookplate of Nathaniel Middleton.
- ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘2/H’, and ‘Bland MSS No. 450’, with the name and number crossed out and ‘Persian’ and ‘229’ written aside.
Binding
Possibly rebound in for former owner Nathaniel Middleton.
Sewn. Edges trimmed, and chevron endbands of yellow and silver threads twined at head and tail.
242 × 160 × 46 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Purchased for 40 rupees by Alexander Dow (ca. 1730–1779) on 20 Nov. 1764 in Benares (Varanasi).
After Dow's death at Bhagalpur, his survivors inherited and then sold his manuscript collection; however, where and when that occurred and whether he or they brought the volume to Britain remains unclear.
Subsequently acquired by Nathaniel Middleton (1750-1807), as per his bookplate on the left pastedown.
After Middleton's death, his survivors inherited and sold his manuscripts through the London firm of James Christie Jr (1773–1831) where bookseller William Baynes (fl. 1792–1841) purchased it for £1 8 shillings.
Probably purchased from Baynes by his friend, Methodist minister Rev. Adam Clarke (1762–1832).
After Clarke's death, his son Jospeh Butterworth Bulmer Clarke (d. 1855) inherited the volume and describes its present state in a catalogue published in 1835.
The next year on 20 June 1836, Clarke's son auctioned his father's collection through the London firm of Sotheby & Son where bookseller John Cochran purchased it for £2 4 shillings.
Probably sold by Cochran to scholar Nathaniel Bland (1803-1865) for his library at Randalls Park, Leatherhead.
After Bland's death, London bookseller Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) sold his oriental manuscripts to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) in 1866, and moved to 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.
Subsequently augmented and enhanced by Jake Benson in 2024 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
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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