Persian MS 885 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 to 2 columns with 15 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq by Maqṣūd.
Decoration
Illumination: Folios 1b and the second work both bear similar scalloped domed headpieces with gilt palmette foliate scrollwork on ultramarine grounds and central cartouches with floral scrollwork, surmounted by vertical radiating lines.
1b: 53 × 63 mm.
55 × 65 mm.
Ruling: Text margins ruled in gold outlined with thin black single internal and double external lines, and surrounded by single blue lines. Vertical column dividers and horizontal breaks ruled with comparatively narrow gold lines outlined with thin single black lines.
Binding
Probably rebound, combinding separate volumes into one, in the Ottoman Empire.
Rewewn at two stations, unsupported. Edges trimmed, and chevron endbands of white and blue silk threads twined at head and tail. Covered in in two pieces of polished maroon goatskin leather over pasteboard cut flush with the edges, which overlap on the spine, with a flap and defined joints (Type II binding per Déroche). Board interiors lined with Ottoman-made comb-patterned marbled paper (ebrī).
Boards decorated with scalloped mandorlas and the flap with a single pendant, all blocked in gold with the former featuring cloudbands and the latter a floral scrollwork design. Board margins ruled with thick-and-thin gold lines, the former tooled with a s-shaped rope design.
177 × 110 × 28 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In fair condition, with extensive wear on the exterior, exposed edges, worn headcaps, and breaks in the joints.
Folio 1a bears a partly legible round seal impression in in three stacked naskh lines, unruled, with the name of ‘Alī
~15 mm. diam.
Accompanying Material
Manuscript accompanied by a 19th-century late-Ottoman style protective slipcase with walls and flap of red goatskin leather, and exteriors faced with European-made shell-patterned marbled paper.
178 × 111 × 30 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently owned by at least two individuals, including one named ‘Alī as per his seal impression on folio 1a.
While the circumstances under which this volume arrived in Britain remain unclear, Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) acquired the volume sometime before in 1866 from an unidentified source.
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 Persian Heritage Foundation
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