Persian MS 250 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
سلطان ولد
Micheal Kerney previously misidentified ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn Muḥammad Ḥasan, who completed Books 2 and 4 (Persian MS 251 and 254) as the copyist of the entire set.
For other copies of this work held in the Rylands, see Persian MS 17, 21, 72, 213, 236, 795, 847, 848, 926, 983 (Book I), and 984, the last being the earliest, completed in 9 Muḥarram 758 AH (2 January 1357 CE), about 85 years after the author first composed it. For critical editions, see Isti‘lāmī and Furūzānfar. For a recent English translation of the first two books based on the former edition, see Williams. For earlier translations, see Arberry, Nicholson, and Whinfield.
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 to 2 columns with 19 lines in the centres, primarily couplets, which then proceeds to the top of the three-part margins which contain another 44 hemistichs, or 22 couplets. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written primarily in black nasta‘līq with red subheaders by Sirāj al-Dīn ibn Bayāzīd Kūrahvī Rūdawlī.
Colophon on folio62a written in shikastah by the same scribe.
Inscriptions:
- The fifth right flyleaf b side (f. vb) numbered No. 84 Vol. 1 at top, followed by a description of the work as The celebrated Poem composed by Molovi Jelal-uddin Rumi emphatically styled "Masnavi" or "the Poem". most probably in the hand of Sir Gore Ouseley, an attribution further attested by an unsigned pencilled notation, probably by Samuel Hawtayne Lewin, as it comports with other inscriptions in his hand found in other Rylands volumes (e.g. Persian MS 287, folio 1a, top.
- Folio 1b, top, also bears what remains of Ouseley's clipped autograph, which despite alteration, match his intact signatures found in other Rylands manuscripts (e.g. Persian MS 147, folio 1b, top).
- The upper right cover bears Indian sīyāq numerals that indicate a price of 60 Rupees for the entire six-volume set.
Binding
Textblock repaired and resewn after suffering significant water and insect damage, at two unsupported stations. Edges trimmed and coloured yellow. Twined chevron endbands worked at head and tail in silver and possibly indigo silk threads. Rebound with very thin pasteboardsin full, tight-backed smooth goatskin leather. Due to prolonged exposure to moisture, the exterior now appears a mottled medium-brown, but the original maroon hue remains evident on the turn-ins. Internal doublures of the same goatskin leather, with the excess width put down as hinges attached to the first and last flyleaves, with strips of paper adhered vertically the joins. Earlier flyleaves of thin-weight, cream-coloured, heavily flocked handmade paper, and a comparatively bright, ivory-coloured, medium-weight, sturdy paper, added when restored, both probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent with ~8 laid lines per cm and few discernible chain lines.
Boards uniformly decorated together with the other volumes as a set, with recessed gilt paper onlays for the central scalloped mandorlas and detached pendants, but only the latter remains on the left board exterior. Two single gold ruled lines drawing vertically and horizontally across the centres of both boards, with a wide rule with single lines on either side surrounding the perimeters, also in gold, with the wider one repeatedly stamped with insular dots.
264 × 161 × 19 mm.
Handle with caution. In fair condition, with extensive staining, after exposure to prolonged moisture, especially at the spine and tail edge. Upper grain layer delaminated in areas. Insect damage to the upper headcap left the endband exposed the endband. The moisture caused the interior pasteboards to swell and delaminate internally, which resulted in the boards bulging, hence they now feel soft and flexible, with the right doublure separating at the fore-edge. Boxed.
8 × 13 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Previously owned or inspected by Faz̤l Allāh Shāh Muḥammad as per his seal impressions on folios 1a and 8b.
Subsequently acquired by indigo merchant Jonathan Harvey Danby (1767–1830), of Honiton, Devon, who constructed a large factory in Shikarpur, Nadia District (now in West Bengal) in circa 1790 to 1795 (this firm later evolved into Messrs. Robert Watson & Co., the preeminent Victorian-era subcontinental dyeworks), as per his name imprinted in relief-cut type at the top of folio 1b, albeit blackened out by a later owner, but nevertheless still evident under raking light.
Later obtained by Sir Gore Ouseley (1770–1844) as per what remains of his clipped-off signature on 1b, top—right, and an unsigned inscription identifying his prior ownership on folio the fifth right flyleaf b side (f. vb), likely in the hand of subsequent owner Samuel Hawtayne Lewin (1795–1840), as it comports with his hand as found in other Rylands volumes (e.g. Persian MS 287, folio 1a, top.
Evidently sold by Lewin's family after his death, then acquired by Persian scholar Nathaniel Bland (1803–1865), after whose death London antiquarian dealer Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) sold his oriental manuscripts to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) in 1866.
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.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on an index created by Reza Navabpour circa 1993, derived from a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s and his Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2021 with reference to the volume, in consultation with Prof Mahmood Alam (English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad) regarding the colophon and scribe.
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.
Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile).
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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