Persian MS 841 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 to 4 columns with 27 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq with red subheaders.
Decoration
Ruling: Text margins, vertical column dividers, and horizontal section breaks all ruled with double black lines.
Binding
Probably bound in Britain for former owner Duncan Forbes
Endpapers prepared of British-made thin-weight, cream-coloured wove and green flocked paper added to the beginning and end. Resewn on three recessed cords laced into pastebaords. Edges trimmed, spattered pale tan, with red and white striped cloth endbands adhered to head and tail. Covered in half claret-coloured calf leather, hollow-backed and tight-jointed, with 'Spanish' wave-patterned marbled paper sides and squares along the edges.
Spine panels paletted with gold double fillet lines with the titles of three works lettered.
273 × 169 × 29 mm.
Binding in fair but stable condition, with spine faded, corners bumpes, and extensive abrasion to the exterior and board edges.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
While the circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, King's College Professor of Oriental Languages Duncan Forbes (1798–1868), who describes the volume in his published catalogue (p. 36, no. 109), before he sold his manuscript collection to his publisher W. H. Allen & Co. in exchange for an annuity. Subsequently sold by that firm 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, Manchester.
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.
Subsequently augmented and enhanced by Jake Benson in 2023 with reference to the manuscript 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
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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