Persian MS 770 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
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Persian Manuscripts
A composite volume of works on palmistry , medicine, poetry, and ornate prose, mainly copied by Rājah Shīr Singh (fl. ca. 1760–1800).
Contents
Summary of Contents: A collection entitled Majmu‘ah-'i bi-maz̤mūnhā-yi mutafarriq bi-khaṭṭ-i shikastah (Collection of disparate works in shikastah script) combines together two books and several other loose documents, most signed by Rājah Shīr Singh (fl. ca. 1760–1800), son of Rājah Bahādur, and grandson of Rājah Nāgar Mal (d. 1774), the Dīvān-i-Khalīṣah (Officer of Crown Lands) under Shāh ‘Ālam II, and patron of poet Mīr Taqī Mīr. Together with his brother, Rājah Umīd Singh, he studied Prīm Nath Rā'ī (fl. mid-18th c.), a master of shikastah script following Muḥammad Ṣādiq Murīd Khān Ṭabāṭabā' (fl. 18th c.). Dated contents span Tuesday 25 Jumādà II [regnal] year 5 [probably of Shāh ‘Ālam II, 1175 AH] to 19 Rajab 1203 AH (20 Dec. 1764–15 Apr. 1789 CE). Aside from poetry and ornate prose, he also copied a palmistry text, Sāmudrīk appended with a fold-out chart now found on folio 136b. Shīr Singh also wo Fālnāmah attributed to ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Sharaf al-Dīn Manīrī, excerpts from an Arabic work on medicine with remedies, and other select Persian malfuẓāt (discourses and anecdotes).Author: Various AuthorsLanguage(s): PersianAccording to Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, Shīr Singh, his brother, and his teacher were all highly skilled archers.
Physical Description
Form: codexExtent: 154 folios, 15 flyleaves (ff. ix + 154 + vi)Dimensions (leaf): 140 × 84 cm.Foliation: Hindu-Arabic numerals added to the upper-left corners of the a sides throughout, with variant numbers indicating their detachment from other volumes. This record follows the numbers that commence with the second work, Persian MS 770B.Condition
Hand text with caution. In fair but stable condition with historical repairs, especially at the end.Additions:
Inscription: The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears the title of the volume written in nasta‘līq.
Bookplates: The left pastedown: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘2/K’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 687’, with the name and number crossed out and ‘Persian’ and ‘770’ written aside.Binding
Probably restored and rebound in Delhi for former owner Colonel George William Hamilton.
Folios of comparatvely heavy-weight coarse paper added as endpapers, with very thin-weight European-made wove letter paper for the first and last flyleaves and pastedowns. Sewn at three station, unsupported. Edges trimmed, and chevron endbands of yellow and red threads twined at head and tail. Covered in full brown-red goatskin leather over pasteboards, with squares along the edges, defined joints, and without a flap (Type III binding per Déroche).
Boards edges and spine stained dark brown with the board exteriors decorated with scalloped central mandorlas and detached pendants blocked in gold, with interstices hand-tooled with small circle. Wide marginal ruling in gold leaf bears repeated impressions of rosettes formed of nine dots. Interior decoration ruled with vertical single yellow lines, surrounded by inner margins and either side of the margins ruled in the same. Board margin interiors and exteriors rule with double yellow lines. Spine bears an octagonal paper label titled in Persian:
‘مجموعهٔ مضمونهای متفرق’ (Miscellany of mixed contents).151 × 93 × 20 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In fair but stable condition, with abrasion at the joints and spine
History
Origin: Completed by Rājah Shīr Singh, with the latest completed in Lucknow; , Tuesday 25 Jumādà II [regnal] year 5 [probably of Shāh ‘Ālam II, 1175 AH] to to 19 Rajab 1203 AH (20 Dec. 1764–15 Apr. 1789 CE).Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi.
Hamilton acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts which he brought to Britain after he retired. After his death, the British Museum purchased 352 from his widow, Charlotte Logie Hamilton (1817–1893), now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), purchased the remainder in 1868 for 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.
Persian MS 770A
Contents
Summary of Contents: A detached bifolium appears among the endpapers, which may represent an earlier flyleaf for this collection. It describes the volume followed by a ghazal ascribed to Jāmī.Sixth and Seventh Right Flyleaves (ff. iva–viia)Author: AnonymousTitle: نسخهٔ اشعار همومیTitle: Text of Frail PoemsIncipit: (basmalla) از مولی جامی: عشق محبوب مرا بمقام رسید.Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Unevenly formed straight-grained, straw-coloured externally sized and polished paper, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~ 7 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 73 × 44 mm.Collation
Single bifolium. 1I(vii). No catchwords.Layout
Written in 2 oblique and 4 perpendicular columns with variant lines per page. Unruled.
Hand(s)
Written in a bold, hasty, partly dotted black shikastah hand.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with double red lines surrounded by single dark blue lines, with the latter again on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770B
Contents
Summary of Contents: An unidentified mas̱navī followed by ghazals and Munajāt (Whispered Prayers) by Anṣārī, written in oblique format and in the surrounding margins, followed by two bayts by Chākirī and Ṣām Mīrzā Ṣafavī.Folios 1b to 13aAuthor: AnonymousIncipit: (basmalla) ای صبا گر سوی دهلی بگذری * همچو صرصر آه مگذر سرسری | بوسهٔ ده بر هر قدم از سوی من * بود بر آن خاک ، عمری رهی من | بر مقابر آیه رحمت بخوان * بر مساجد خدمتی از من رسان | میر کی غزلیاتExplicit: تو میبینی مه عید و من ابروی تو میبینم * هلال عید را ای ماه ، بر روی تو میبینمColophon: Folio 12a، lower-right margin signed ‘Lucknow on 19 Rajab 1203 AH (15 Apr. 1789)’.Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight-grained, ivory-coloured, externally sized and polished paper, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~ 10 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines, with the centres stencilled and tinted a salmon pink.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
2 ternions, 2III+1(13). No catchwords.Condition
In fair but stable condition witht the salmon dye bleeding into the outer margins.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with 9 lines on the former and 10 on the latter. lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear minute black nasta'līq with occasional shikastah ligatures.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with gold outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770C
Contents
Summary of Contents: Shīr Shingh completed this and the next work at Lucknow on 8 Rabī‘ I 1213 AH (15 Apr. 1789), the latest date in the volume. It comprises what was a separate codex that forms the heart of the present manuscript. The first work, entitled Sāmudrīk (derived from the Sansrkit सामुद्रिक Samudrika), in two faṣl (sections) on telling fortunes for men and women respectively, is the seventh chapter of the Tuḥfat al-Hind.Folios 14b to 53aAuthor: AnonymousTitle: Tuḥfat al-HindTitle: تحفة الهندTitle: SāmudrīkTitle: سامدریکIncipit: (basmalla) در علم «سامدریک»... یعنی علم قیافه و معرفت خطوط دست و پا وغیره این که علامت خیر و شر و سعادت و شفاف مرد و زن ازآن معلوم شود...Colophon: No colophon.Language(s): PersianThe inclusion of a palmistry chart found on folio 136b probably pertains to this work.
References
Prashant Keshavmurthy, 'Tuḥfat al-hind Perso-Indica: An Analytical Survey of Persian Works on Indian Learned Traditions (2013).D. N. Marshall, Mughals in India: A Bibliographical Survey. Vol. 1. Manuscripts (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1962), pp. 295–296, no. 1068.A. Munzavī, Fihrist-i Mushtarak-i Nuskhah'hā-yi Khaṭṭī-i Fārsī-i Pākistān, Vol. 1. (Islamabad: Markaz-i Taḥqīqāt-i Fārsī-i Īrān va Pākistān, 1382 SH [1983 CE]), p. 439, no. 2382.A. Nūshāhī, Fihrist-i Nuskhah'hā-yi Khaṭṭī-i Fārsī-i Mūzah-'i Millī-i Pākistān, Karāchī (Islamabad: Markaz-i Taḥqīqāt-i Fārsī-i Īrān va Pākistān, 1382 SH [1983 CE]), p. 902 [National Museum of Pakistan, no. 1631-1937/B].A. Nūshāhī, Fihrist-i Nuskha'hā-yi Khaṭṭī-yi Fārsī-yi Pākistān (Fihrist-i 8000 Nuskha-yi Khatti-yi Kitabkhānah'hā-yi Shakhsī va Dawlatī), Vol. 3 (Tehran: Mīrās̱-i Maktūb, 1396 SH [2017 CE]), p. 2284 National Museum of Pakistan 1052-2 and 1957-3.Khiz̤r ʻAbbāsī Nūshāhī, Fihrist-i Nuskhahʹhā-yi Khaṭṭī-i Fārsī-i Kitābkhānah-i Dānishgāh-i Punjāb, Lāhūr: Ganjīnah-ʼi Āẕar (Islamabad: Markaz-i Taḥqīqāt-i Fārsī-i Īrān va Pākistān, 1406 AH [1986 CE]) pp. 108–109 [Aẕar no. 8450/25].C. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. I (London: British Museum, 1879), pp. 61–62 [British Library Add. 16868].F. Speziale, 'Mīrzā Ḫān ibn Faḫr al-Dīn, Tuḥfat al-hind' Perso-Indica: An Analytical Survey of Persian Works on Indian Learned Traditions (2010).A. Sprenger, A Catalogue of the Bibliotheca Orientalis Sprengeriana (Giessen: W. Keller, 1857), p. 90, nos. 1655 and 1656.F. Speziale, 'Les traités persans sur les sciences indiennes.' Muslim Cultures in the Indo-Iranian World during the Early-Modern and Modern Periods, edited by F. Speziale and D. Hermann (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2020), pp. 403–447.C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Vol. III, Pt. 1 (London: Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1984), p.117, no. 172.Physical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
Quaternions, 5IV(53). Note that when rebound, the binder inserted two bifolia with two Fālnāmah (Persian MS 770E and 770F) within the sixth gathering. Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770D
Contents
Summary of Contents: The collection copied by Shīr Singh continues with a colection of poems that commences with a long mas̱navī derived from the Naqqāsh va Ṣurat (Painter and Form) by Nāṣir ʻAlī Sirhindī (d. 1697) and ends with verses praising ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib culled from the anonymous work entitled Gulbāng-i Manṣūr, which he completed at Lucknow on 8 Rabī‘ I 1213 AH (15 Apr. 1789).Folios 14b to 94bIncipit: (basmalla) شرار نقاش آتشخانهٔ عشق * چنین تصویر کرد افسانه عشق | که در اقصای چین صورت طرازی * به کلک عنبرین خورشید سازی | بنوک خامهٔ جان در تن دمیدی * نفس در قالب صورت کشیدی | رگ جانها به موی خامهاش بند * بتصویرش نزاکت خورده سوگند | برنگی شاخ گل را نوش تنی [رنگ بستی] * که از لرزیدن کاغذ شکستی | کشیدی چون شبیه نیم بسمل * نمی آودی از بی تابی دل | اگر تمثال ابری نقش میبست * ترشح می نمود و برق میجست * غزالی را اگر تصویر میکرد * ز بیم رم بپا زنجیر میکرد | بنوعی میکشیدی چشمه آب * که مستسقی از و میگشت سیراب | قضا را غارت جان صورتی ساخت * ز عشقش رنگ و بوی عافیت باخت | دل آسودهاش نخجير غم شــد * جگر آماجگاه تر غم شـد | ز آتشخانه دل ناله جوشید * ز لب تا مغز جان تبخاله جوشید | غم از هرگوشه سویش کرد مهمیز * ز تنگی شد دلش چون غنچه لبریز | جگر شد خوابگاه نیش زنبور * چوشان انگبين لبريز ناسور | زهستی پاک شد از برق آهی *که شد نخجیر چشم بی نگاهی | رمید از شهر و در صحرا وطن کرد * جنون را رهنمای خویشتن کرد سری و یک جهان سودای معشوق * دلی و صد گلستان جای معشوق | سراپا آتش برق جنون ریز * لبش تبخاله خـــيـز و چشم خونریز | کف پا تا به دامان جگر ریش * به رنگ خار پشت آسوده در نیش | هجوم درد خون کرده دل تنگ * ز سیلیهای خا را شیشه گلرنگ | ز مژگان اشک و برلب ناله می رفت * سراپا جوشش تبخاله می رفت | رگ ابری و طوفان ریزش چند * لب برقی و یک عالم شرخند | بهر جا گردباد ناله می تاخت * زمین را آسیای باد می ساخت | [که ناگه شد نمایان از ره دور * شراری مضمحل در آتش طور |] بهارستان رنگی زعفرانی *چمن پیرای باغ لن ترانی | چو مجنون تشنه دیدار ليلى* چو موسی کشته برق تجلی | شهى اقلیم وحشت تختگاهش * غزالان روان در پی سپاهش | دلش را شور محشر در پیاله * قیامت بسته بر فتراک ناله | جنون شوریدهExplicit: Folio 94a ﻋﻠﻲ ﺭﻣﺰ ﺍﺳﺖ ﻭ ﺍﻳﻤﺎ ﻣﺸﺮﺏ ﻣﺎ * ﺑﻮﺩ چﺸﻢ ﺑﺘﺎﻥ ﻫﻢ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻣﺎColophon: Folio 94b، lower-right margin signed by Shīr Singh at Lucknow on 8 Rabī‘ I 1213 AH (15 Apr. 1789).Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
Primarily Quaternions 5IV(95)1II(99)2IV(105), including folio 95 and the subsequent portion following the inserted binion with two Fālnāmah (Persian MS 770E and 770F) as the sixth gathering. Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770E
Contents
Summary of Contents: The first of two Fālnāmah spuriously attributed to ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ca. 600–661), together with a magic square copied by the same hand, inserted by a subsequent owner into the main codex completed by Shīr Singh (Persian MS 770C, D, and F) Folios 99a to 99b fālnāmah attributed attributed to Sharaf al-Dīn Manīrī.96b to 97bAuthor and Dubious author: ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, ca. 600–661;
ناصر علي سرهندىTitle: Fāl'nāmahTitle: فالنامهColophon: No colophonLanguage(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Collation
One binion, 1II(99). Note that when rebound, the binder inserted it as the sixth gathering. Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770F
Contents
Summary of Contents: The second of two Fālnāmah spuriously attributed to Sharaf al-Dīn Manīrī.99a–99bAuthor and Dubious author: Manīrī, Sharaf al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyá, d. ca. 1380;
منيرى، شرف الدين احمد بن يحيىTitle: Fāl'nāmahTitle: فالنامهColophon: No colophonLanguage(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Collation
One binion, 1II(99). Note that when rebound, the binder inserted it as the sixth gathering. Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770G
Contents
Summary of Contents: Poems copied by Shīr Shingh resume.Folios 100a to 105bIncipit: (basmalla) شرار نقاش آتشخانهٔ عشق * چنین تصویرExplicit: Folio 94a ﻋﻠﻲ ﺭﻣﺰ ﺍﺳﺖ ﻭ ﺍﻳﻤﺎ ﻣﺸﺮﺏ ﻣﺎ * ﺑﻮﺩ چﺸﻢ ﺑﺘﺎﻥ ﻫﻢ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻣﺎColophon: No colophon.Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
One ternion 1III(105). Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770H
Contents
Summary of Contents: A brief poetic anthology of select couplets copied in bold shikastah script, probably by Shīr Shingh.106b to 113bIncipit: (basmalla) Folio 106b لا احصي ثناء عليك كيف وكل ثناء يعود اليك جل عن ثنائى جناب قربک(؟) است کمالیستExplicit: Folio 106b to 113b ﻋﻠﻲ ﺭﻣﺰ ﺍﺳﺖ ﻭ ﺍﻳﻤﺎ ...کای بلبل جان مست زیاد تو مرا * وی پایه غم پست زیاد تو مرا | لذات جهانرا همه دریا فکند * ذوقی که دهد دست زیاد تو مرا | چون طالب صادق مقدمه نسبتColophon: No colophon.Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
One ternion 1III(105). Catchwords on the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770I
Contents
Summary of Contents: Folios 114b to 135b feature a collection of inset single-sided specimens, all probably copied by Shīr Shingh, with this first one dated 27 Shavvāl 1184 AH (13 Feb. 1771).114b to 135bLanguage(s): Persian1. 114bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseColophon: Unsigned, dated 27 Shavvāl 1184 AH (13 Feb. 1771).Language(s): Persian2. 115aTitle: Excerpt from a medical formularyColophon: Unsigned, dated ‘Mashq-i Ramaz̤ān’.Language(s): Persian3. 116bTitle: Excerpt from the ‘ĀlamgīrnāmahIncipit: سبحان الله اقبال خصم افکن دشمن شکار خدیو جهان را طرفه خاصیتی است که صید از دام جسته او به نیروی تکاپوی گریز از چنگ میاد قضا ایمن نیست و نخچیر رم خورده او را بپايمردي صحرا نوردی و دشت پیمائی رهائی از کمند بلا ممکن ني زخمى تيغ ابدار صولتس پیمائی رهائی از کمند بلا ممکن ني زخمى تيغ ابدار صولتش اگر چون مرغ نیم بسمل گامی چند بیای اضطراب بهر طرف پوید آخر از پا در آید و هزیمت خورده جيش سطوتش اگر چند روزی...Colophon: Unsigned, dated 27 Shavvāl 1184 AH (13 Feb. 1771).Language(s): Persian4. 117aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseColophon: Unsigned, dated ‘Mashq-i Ramaz̤ān’.Language(s): Persian5. 118bTitle: Excerpt from the ‘ĀlamgīrnāmahIncipit: در خدمت گرامی شیخ صاحب بسیار مهربان و لایگان مخلصان اینجانب مسله بعد عرض نیاز گزارش نماید که از خطوط شریف...Language(s): Persian6. 119aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: محمد علی منجم در علم نجوم سر آمد روزگار است و آرزومند حصول سعادت حدمت را بصاحب ولا الاقدار بر ربع نیاز امر میرسد منصب که در خدمت رای صاحب ...Language(s): Persian7. 120bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: قلمها یک قلم خط بر سرخود حاله این که ...Language(s): Persian8. 121aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: بحکم تجارت اواز و تعاقب اعصار مشامله لا ز ساف و مطالعه اخبار خلق خبان ...Colophon: ‘4 Ramaz̤ān [regnal] year 14 [probably of Shāh ‘Ālam II, 1187 AH] (19 Nov. 1773 CE)’.Language(s): PersianSame text as no. 17 below.
9. 122aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: مراد از نزول قرآن تحصیل سیرت خوبست ترتیل سوره مكتوب ...Language(s): Persian10. 123bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: بحکم تجارت اهوا رو تعاقب اعصار ...Colophon: Completed by Shīr Singh on ‘12 Jumāda II’ for Rājāh Hilyah Iqbāl(?)Language(s): Persian11. 124aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseLanguage(s): Persian12. 125bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseColophon: Completed by Shīr Singh on ‘12 Jumāda II’ for Rājāh Hilyah Iqbāl(?)Language(s): Persian13. 126aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseColophon: Dated ‘Tuesday 25 Jumādà II [regnal] year 5 [probably of Shāh ‘Ālam II, 1175 AH] (20 Dec. 1764 CE)’.Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
15. 128aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseColophon: Dated 12 Rajab 1184 AH (1 Nov. 1770 CE).Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
16. 129bTitle: Mufridāt letteringColophon: Signed by Shīr Singh, dated 12 Rajab 1184 AH (1 Nov. 1770 CE).Language(s): Persian17. 130aTitle: Unidentified ornate prose fragmentIncipit: بحکم تجارت اواز و تعاقب اعصار مشامله لا ز ساف و مطالعه اخبار خلق خبان ...Same text as no. 8 above. Unsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
Language(s): Persian18. 131bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: فطرت سه وسایل فطر نهانست...Language(s): Persian19. 132bTitle: Unidentified ornate prose fragmentIncipit: لب می خط بدین توصیفات است ...Colophon: Dated ‘on a Wednesday night’ in Muharram 1191 AH (February 1777 CE).Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
20. 133aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: درهام سر انجام آن کهLanguage(s): Persian21. 134aAuthor: Ẓuhūrī, Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad, ca. 1537–1617Subject and Honoree: Ībrāhīm ʻĀdil Shāh II, Sultan of Bijapur, b. 1570, r. 1580–1627Incipit: بس اولی آنکه آل اظهار و اصحاب اخبار خصوصاً از بهار ریاض ولایت علی مرتضی کرم الله وجه که علام مخور نظام تحت کلام خالق و فوق کلام مخلوق است در یوزه شاخ و برگ سخن نبودم نورس مراد از نهال داور عادل چنیند. هم داور عادل لقب دارای ابراهیم نام * قبلهٔ ارباب ایمان کعبه اهل زمان ...Colophon: ‘Drafted on Friday night’.Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
22. 135bIncipit: والسلام علی من اتبع الهديLanguage(s): ArabicUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
Physical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Collation
quaternions. 1IV(121)1II+2(127)1IV-1(135).Condition
In good condition.Layout
Primarily written in 1 oblique and 2 vertical columns with variant lines on the former and 8 on the latter. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins ruled with vermillion single lines outlined in single interior and double exterior thin black lines, surrounded by single blue lines, with black double lines on the outer margins.
Persian MS 770J
Contents
An Indic palmistry chart.
136bA chart depicts a hand with various lines and symbols.
Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
One singleton sewn with the prior gathering.Condition
In good condition.Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
A chart depicts a hand with various lines and symbols.
Persian MS 770K
Contents
Summary of Contents: A collection of mounted fragmentary ornate prose specimens, unsigned and undated, but probably by Shīr Singh given their overall similarity to his signed examples.138b–146aLanguage(s): Persian1. 138bTitle: Ornate prose fragment2. 139aTitle: Ornate prose fragment3. 140bTitle: Ornate prose fragment4. 141aTitle: Ornate prose fragment5. 142bTitle: Ornate prose fragment6. 143aTitle: Ornate prose fragment7. 142aTitle: Ornate prose fragment8. 143bTitle: Ornate prose fragment9. 144aTitle: Ornate prose fragment10. 145bTitle: Ornate prose fragment11. 146aTitle: Ornate prose fragmentPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
1IV(146).Condition
In good condition.Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Persian MS 770L
Contents
Summary of Contents: A bifolium copied by Shīr Singh.1. 147bTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: هر نوشی گان عرض امیدشExplicit: هست جوان مرد درم صد هزار کار * چو با جان فتد آنجاست کارColophon: Unsigned, dated Monday 24 Jumādà I 1186 AH (23 Aug. 1772 CE).Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
2. 148aTitle: Unidentified ornate proseIncipit: هر نویسی کان عرض امیدشExplicit: قمری هر صبح و شام از شوق مست بر فلان سرو بلندی می نشست هست یا از ناله و فریاد رفت چون کف خاکستری بر باد رفتColophon: No colophon.Language(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to others adjacent.
Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mounted on blue paper margins, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
1IV(146).Condition
In fair condition with some staining.Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Persian MS 770L
Contents
Summary of Contents: Ornate prose and poems copied by Rājah Shīr Singh on the same stock as Persian MS 770B and 770C.149a–154aLanguage(s): PersianUnsigned, but probably completed by Shīr Singh given the similarity to other examples.
Physical Description
Support: Thin-weight, evenly formed, straight and cross-grained externally sized and polished paper mostly tinted green and salmon pink, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent, with ~8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Dimensions (written): 67 × 39 mm.Collation
One ternion.Condition
In good condition.Hand(s)
Written in hasty black shikastah script.
Decoration
A chart depicts a hand with various lines and symbols.
Additional Information
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.
Manuscript description and corrections completed by Jake Benson in 2024 with reference to the volume in hand, and in consultation with Prof Fabrizio Speziale and Prof Prashant Keshavmurthy, McGill University regarding the Sāmudrīk palmistry text.
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
Michael Kerney, Bibliotheca Lindesiana: Hand List Of Oriental Manuscripts Arabic Persian Turkish Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1898, p. 129, no. 770.Ghulām Muḥammad Haft Qalamī Dihlavī, Tad̲h̲kira-i-k̲h̲us̲h̲navīsān of Mawlānā G̲h̲ulām Muḥammad Dihlavī. Edited by M. Hidayet Husain (Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal) 1910), p. 107–108.Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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