Persian MS 772 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Two concise works on the modern history of Bengal
Contents
Misidentified as San‘at-i Zād al-Qavāfī (Provisions for Rhyming) on the flyleaf and spine label. In the colophons, the scribe entitles the first part Vaqāyi‘ Bhaskarī (History of Bhaskarī) and the third part Vaqāyi‘-i Shamshīr Khānī (History of Shamshīr Khān).
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 15 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq with subheaders in red by Ibrāhīm Ḥusayn Husnī.
Inscriptions:
- The right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears a misidentified title for the work, and the name of former owner Colonel George William Hamilton likely in the hand of his assistant Muhīn Dās.
- Folio 1a also inscribed with same misidentified title in another hand.
Binding
Probably bound Delhifor former owner Colonel George William Hamilton after his appointment as Commissioner in 1863.
Sewn on a single flat tape support in the centre, machine-mde wove endpaper added at the front only, then edges trimmed, but endbands omitted. Covers hemmed in red goatskin leather, faced with British-made 'Spanish' patterned marbled paper.
Octagonal paper label bears the titles of the two works.
267 × 166 × 12 mm.
Handle binding with caution. Vertical breaks in the leather on the spine, and abrasion to the edges; headcaps wanting.
History
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. He acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, from which the British Museum selected 352, now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) purchased the remainder of Hamilton's collection in 1868.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) purchased the remainder of Hamilton's collection 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, concisely published as Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2022 with reference to the volume in hand.
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.
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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