Persian MS 868 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Central text ruled in two columns with 12 lines, with the text continuing to the surrounding margins with 28 hemistichs or 14 couplets.
Hand(s)
Written in very clear, primarily black nasta‘līq red subheaders, and occasional passages in gold and blue.
Decoration
Double-page frontispiece within a bold illuminated border.
Illuminated headings on folios 2b, 55b, 163b, 269b, 270b, 287b, 288b, 307b and 309b.
Binding
Contemporary mid-sixteenth-century Shiraz-style binding.
Full panels blocked on the exteriors in both white an and yellow gold feature central scalloped mandorlas, pendants and corner-pieces, and outer borders of alternating cartouches and quatrefoils blocked in yellow gold. A second interior margin appears added later. Doublures have similar decoration, but are executed in gilt cut-out work on varied coloured backing.
355 × 244 × 50 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In fair but stable condition.
Accompanying Material
Ottoman style slipcase of medium brown goatskin leather faced with craquelure patterned marbled papers (ḳumlū ebrī).
357 × 246 × 52 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
While the circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, London bookseller Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) acquired it from an unidentified source then sold to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880), on 4 January 1860 for £21 (Crawford Receipts, f. 692).
Subsequently 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, and B.W. Robinson, Persian Paintings in the John Rylands Library: A Descriptive Catalogue (London, 1980).
Subsequently augmented and enhanced by Jake Benson in 2025 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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