Persian MS 612 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
No catchwords.
Condition
Handle with care. The volume suffered from water and mould damage which left the paper internally weakened.
Layout
Written in 1 column, with 4 to 9 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Copied in a hasty nast‘liq hand in black ink.
Decoration
Marginal ruling throughout, with double lines of red ink and a single line of blue ink frame the pages, with occasional horizontal single lines, also in red.
Inscriptions:
- Folio iia:
‘رسالهٔ تیراندازی مصنف نامعلوم’
‘Risālah-'i Tīrandāzī, muṣannaf nā-ma‘lūm’ (‘Treatise on Archery, author unknown’).
- Folio 1a:
‘ سالهٔ تیراندازی ’
‘Risālah-'i Tīrandāzī’ (‘Treatise on Archery’).
- Folio 1a:
‘۱۸ ربیع الاول سنه ۱۱۹٨ داخل شد’
‘18 Rabī al-Awwal sana 1198 dākhil shud ’ (‘Entered on 18 Rabī al-Awwal year 1198 AH [10 Feb. 1784 CE]’).
- Folio 1a:
‘۲ ذی الفعده سنه ۱۲۰۳ داخل شد’
‘2 Ẕī-al-Qa‘dah sanah 1203 dākhil shud’ (‘Entered on 2 Ẕī-al-Qa‘dah year 1203 AH [25 July 1789 CE]’).
- Folio 1a:
‘ اهتمام محمد بیگ سنه ۱۲۳۱’
‘Ihtimām Muḥammad Bayg sana 1231’ (‘Inspected by Muḥammad Bayg year 1231 AH [1815–16 CE]’).
- Left paste-down, ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with shelf mark ‘1/J’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 529’.
Binding
Semi-limp full maroon goatskin leather binding, very likely covered in India, with medium brown paper paste-downs.
214 × 145 × 5 mm.
In fair condition; handle with care. Water and mould damage resulted in white salts (spew) on the exterior leather surface. Worn and abraded on the exterior. Loose sewing.
Library seals of the kings of Awadh, intaglio-carved in nasta‘līq script in two stacked lines and impressed in vermillion ink on folios on folios 1b and 15b:
- 1: Rectangular seal impression ofthe library of Nāṣir al-Dīn Ḥaydar Shāh (b. 1803 r. 1827–1837) dated AH 1244 (1828–29 CE), inscribed with his title Sulaymān Jāh:
‘ خوش است مهر کتبخانه سلیمان جاه * بهر کتاب مزین چو نقش بسم الله، ١٢۴۴’
‘Khvush ast muhur-i kitābkhānah-'i Sulaymān Jāh bahr-i kitāb; muzayyin chaw naqsh-i basmallah, 1244’ (‘The seal of the library of Sulaymān Jāh is good; it embellishes the book like the design of a basmallah, 1244’).
17 × 37 mm.
- 2:Rectangular seal impression, surmounted by the royal emblem of Awadh, of Amjad ‘Alī Shāh (b. 1801, r. 1842–1847) dated AH 1260 (1844–45 CE):
‘ ناسخ هر مهر شد چون شد مزین بر کتاب * خاتم امجد علی شاه زمان عالیجناب، ١٢٦٠ ’
‘Nāsukh har muhur shud chun shud muzayyin bar kitāb; khātim-i Amjad ‘Alī Shāh zamān-i ‘Ālījanāb, 1260’ (‘Every [prior] seal became cancelled since the book became embellished by the seal of Amjad ‘Alī Shāh in the era of his Sublime Majesty, 1260’).
53 × 45 mm.
History
Likely completed in India during the late 18th century CE.
Provenance and Acquisition
Previously held in the royal library of Awadh (Oude) in Awadh (Oude), possibly as early as Aṣaf al-Dawlah (b. 1748, r. 1795–1797), as indicated by dated library notations on folio 1a, but definitely during the reigns of Nāṣir al-Dīn Ḥaydar Shāh (b. 1803, r. 1827–1837) and Amjad ‘Alī Shāh (b. 1801 r. 1842–1847). Presumably looted during India's First War of Independence, when British soldiers ransacked the Kaisarbagh palace and library on 15 March 1858.
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) 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.
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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