Persian MS 54 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Probably one of the four copies formerly owned by Sir Gore Ouseley, who repeatedly refers to it in his essay on Persian poets, as does former owner Nathaniel Bland in his seminal essay on chronicles of poets. For other copies in the Rylands collections, see Persian MS 309, 310, and 838.
Physical Description
Foliation marked at top-left of the a sides in Hindu-Arabic numerals starting on folio 9.
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 17 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Copied by Muḥammad Amān in neat nasta'liq script with occasional shikastah ligatures in black with headers and verse markers in red.
Marginalia
- Glosses, comments and emendations in Persian throughout.
- Pencilled notations in English, probably in the hand of former owner Nathaniel Bland.
- Folio 1a bears a note in English, probably in the hand of Sir Gore Ouseley: ‘No 28. ‘Memoirs of the Poets’ by Doulat Shah Samarkandi transcribed by Muhammed Aman AH 1162 – A.D. 1749.’
- Folio 1b, top bears a caricatured image of a sea monster in black ink, that someone evidently sketched to obscure an earlier inscription, probably the signature of a former owner.
- Final flyleaf a side: ‘Bland MSS No. 64’.
- Final flyleaf b side: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with shelf mark ‘2/F’.
Binding
Bound with ornate, painted lacquer pasteboard covers that appear contemporary with the manuscript, then apparently later restored for former owner Sir Gore Ouseley. Resewn on three sunken cords, with flyleaves of European heavy-weight, flocked, gray-coloured paper, ivory-coloured added. Edges trimmed and spattered in fine blue, with European-style front-bead decorative endbands sewn over a flat core. The binder laced the cords into the original boards, then rebacked the spine in calf leather, hollow-backed, with internal calfskin leather hinges put down upon the flyleaves to reconnect the textblock.
Board exteriors painted with elaborate floral bouquets on grounds that contains iridescent, finely ground mica or nacre particles. The internal doublures feature a central narcissuses, with floral garlands underneath, and butterflies on either side, painted on red grounds. The rebacked spine tooled with a foliate decorative roll on the exterior in gold, with a floriate decorative roll in blind on the interior hinges.
254 × 173 × 33 mm.
Handle binding with caution. Lacquer delaminating along the outer edges of the boards, with the corners exposed. Boxed.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Probably one of four copied formerly owned by Sir Gore Ouseley as per an unsigned inscription on folio 1a that comports with his hand.
Later acquired by scholar Nathaniel Bland (1803–1865), after whose death London bookseller 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 James White in 2017 with reference to the volume in hand.
Record further amended and enhanced by Jake Benson in 2021 with reference to the manuscript.
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
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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