Persian MS 596 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Foliation in pencilled Arabic numerals on the upper-right corners of the a sides by the cataloguer.
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 7 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Copied in clear nasta‘līq script, albeit undotted, in black ink with horizontal marks in red.
- The right flyleaf obverse (f. ia) bears the title written in Persian, in the same hand as the spine label.
- The right flyleaf reverse (f. ib) bears a French inscription in an unidentified hand: ‘Preci la AH 1152 (1739–40 CE)’.
- Folio 1a inscribed with an ornate rhyming prose text similar to the contents, in an unidentified hand: ‘Preci la AH 1152 (1739–40 CE) (the date apparently based upon the inscription on 14b)’.
- Folio 14b bears two anonymous Persian notations inscribed in nasta'liq script in black ink in the same hand. The first inscribed on the upper-right corner notes its acquisition in Akbarabad (Agra), India on Wednesday, 14 Ramaz̤ān 1152 (15 Dec. 1739 CE). The second note at top states that on Wednesday 24 Jumādá II 1154 (6 Sept. 1741 CE) the person gave it to one Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghaffār, whose name may be inscribed on the adjacent obliterated seal impression.
- Left paste-down, ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with shelfmark ‘1/K’, and ‘Hamilton MSS 513’.
Binding
Unsupported sewing at six stations, and covered in a semi-limp, stiffened European-made handmade blue paper, cut flush with the edges. Endpapers of heavily flocked handmade paper, paper probably manufactured in the Indian subcontinent with 10 laid lines per cm, and no discernible chain lines. Octagonal paper label on the right cover exterior bears the title inscribed in Persian in the same hand as on the the right flyleaf obverse (f. ia)
172 × 108 × 4 mm.
Good condition.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
An anonymous owner inscribed two Persian notations on 14b documents the volume's acquisition in Akbarabad (Agra) on Wednesday, 14 Ramaz̤ān 1152 (15 Dec. 1739 CE) and subsequent gift on Wednesday 24 Jumādá II 1154 (6 Sept. 1741 CE) to one Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghaffār, whose name may be inscribed on the adjacent obliterated seal impression. Subsequently acquired by another anonymous, probably French owner who inscribed it on the right flyleaf reverse (f. ib).
Subsequently acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807–1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi. He acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts from which the British Museum selected 352 after his death, now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), purchased the remainder in 1868.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) (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 handlist 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.
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)
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
Please fill out your details.