Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

Persian MS 877 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)

Persian Manuscripts

Contents

Summary of Contents: This brief, anonmymous treatise on astrology probably derives from an Indic source. An unidentified scribe completed it in Nagaur, Rajasthan, on
Incipit: (basmala) برگ ۱پ (folio 1b): این دوازده برج باید دانست که در آن هفت نجوم ستاره تا چند مدت مدید سیر می‌کند و باز بجائی خود میایدین... تفصیل مسیره بروج اول حمل است...
Explicit: برگ ۳۷پ (folio 37b): و صلی الله علی خیر خلقه سیدنا محمد و اله و اجمعین برحمتک یا ارحم الرحمین هر که کند یاد خدا یاد محمد خدا یا الله یا الله یا الله حق تعالی راست آرد.
Colophon: برگ ۳۷پ (folio 37b): تمت بتاریخ هفتم ماه رمضان المبارک سنه ۱۱۸۴ هجره النبی به روز سه شنبه در ناگور شریف قلمی شد.
Colophon: Completed on 7 Ramaz̤ān 1184 in Nagaur [Rajasthan].
Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Textblock of cross-grained, externally sized and polished, ivory-coloured paper probably handmade in the Rajasthan .
Extent: 37 folios, 6 flyleaves (ff. iii + 37 + iii).
Dimensions (leaf): 207 × 135 mm.
Dimensions (written): 180 × 110 mm.
Foliation: Hindu-Arabic numerals added to the upper-left corners of the a sides throughout.
Foliation: Pencilled Arabic numerals added to the upper-left corners of the a sides when catalogued.

Collation

Undetermined. Catchwords throughout most of the lower-left corners of the b sides.

Condition

In fair condition, with moderate water and insect damage and historical repairs throughout.

Layout

Written in 1 column with 15 to 17 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in hasty black nasta‘līq with shikastah ligatures.

Additions:
Bookplates: The left pastedown: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘2/J’ and , with the name and number crossed out and ‘Persian MSS No. 83’ and ‘123’ written aside.

Binding

Probably bound in Rajasthansoon after completion.

Handle binding with caution.

History

Origin: Completed in Nagaur [Rajasthan]; 7 Ramaz̤ān 1154 AH (16 Nov. 1741 CE).

Provenance and Acquisition

While the circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) eventually acquire it from an unidentified source for his 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, 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.

Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2024.

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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