Text is written in nastaʻlīq shekasteh script in black ink with some red. The initial page, which seems to have been added later when the codex was rebound, contains the title of the work and a brief sketch of the author's life and works in Persian, written in blue ink in nastaʻlīq script. These notes also present the same information about the time and place of production of this codex as is presented on the last page of the manuscript(noted above). In addition, written in English cursive in pencil, this page contains a note which states, erroneously, that this codex is the Masnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi.Last page of the manuscript states that this copy was made in the 12th year of the reign of Khān Muhammad Awrangābādī, more commonly known as Awrangzeyb, the Mughal Emperor. Awrangzeyb reigned from 1658-1707; thus this manuscript must have been completed in 1080/1670 in India. The codex does not have original binding; it has clearly been rebound, probably in the 19th century with a plain binding; many of the pages have been remounted on a different kind of paper. There is no title page on the original paper.Vāʻiẓ Kāshifī's florid Persian version of the 8th century Arabic book of fables, Kalīlah wa Dimnah, by Ibn al-Muqaffaʻ, which is itself a translation of the Pahlavī version of the original Sanskrit work by Bidpai. Kāshifī's Anvār-i Suhaylī has been published many times, sometimes under the Arabic title, Kalīlah wa Dimnah.
Abstract: Two dīvāns of Persian poetry with 19th-century European plates.Binding note: Quarter cloth with leather covers.Contents: 138W, leaves 3b-28b: Dīvān-i Bīdil -- 139W, leaves 30b-161b: Dīvān-i Shams.Ms. composite codex.Title from leaf 1a and label on back cover by a later hand.Additional label on back cover reads "Deevanabadeel & Shumseetubrez.""Three 19th-century European plates from R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts have been inserted: Full Dress (between leaves 13-14)no. 73January 11822. A View of the Italian Opera House (between leaves 45-46)no. 81September 11822. Evening Dress (between leaves 143-144)August 11822 no number given."'Physical descriptiontext 1: 15 lines per pagein two columns; written in nastaʻliq with elements of shikastah in black on cream glazedlaid Arabic paper. Text framed in black and red with double red lines separating columns. Catchwords; text block has been trimmed. Insect damageresulting in occasional loss of text.'Physical description, text 2: 11 lines per page, in two columns; written in nastaʻliq in black on gray glazed, laid Arabic paper. Rubrication and catchwords. Insect damage.Origin: Text 2 dated 1 Jumādá 1 1249 H 16 September 1833, by Muḥammad Z̤iyāʾ al-Ḥaqq ibn Muḥammad Zayn al-Ḥaqq ʻAbbāsī al-Aḥmadābādī al-Gujarātī (leaf 161b). Text 1 likely from the early 19th century.
Copy dated 8 Rabīʻ al-Awwal, 1026 / March 16, 1617. Scribe's name is mentioned in the colophon: Yūsuf [ibn] Yaʻqūb.ʻUnwān in gold, blue, green, and red; black-ruled gold margins. Text written in nastaʻlīq shekasteh script in black with rubrications. Hand is identical to that in Vol. 1. Last few pages contain notes in a different hand, in nastaʻlīq script.Simple leather bound codex with some tooling on upper and lower covers as well as envelop flaps; decaying rapidly. Leather is disintegrating and folios are crumbling and falling away from the binding.Ḥabīb-i siyar was usually copied in three volumes. This collection contains only Volumes 1 and 2, (Isl. Ms. 667 and Isl Ms. 668, respectively.) Contents of these two volumes correspond to those of British Museum Cat. Per Mss. for Volumes 1 and 2 of this work. This is manuscript is Volume 2. (For Volume 1, see Ḥabīb-i siyar, jild al-awwal: Isl. Ms. 667).This is the second of three volumes which comprise Khvandemīr's well known and important general history, completed in 929/1523, which spans the creation of the world up to the death of Shah Ismāʻīl Safavī I. The work includes particularly detailed information about Herat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the last Timurid ruler in Herat, as well as Shah Ismāʻīl and Bābur's life. This work has been published in both Persian and English editions.
Manuscript. Persian. Scribe not indicated. Written in Iran. Paper; fine, beige paper; manuscript opens with a pair of gorgeous illuminated opening pages, separated by tissue; black ink; extremely fine black script, each line of script on these two pages is separated with a gold background painted with a floral motif; text enclpsed in a thin deep-blue ruled border decorated with tiny white 'crosses' surrounds the text on these two opening pages; the script in the rest of the manuscript is arranged in two columns, crossed with horizontal bands with titles in blue or gold script in clouds against peach-colored cartouches. Modified artistic nastaʻliq; a different type of nastaʻliq script with many curved lines placed horizontally above the lettering at the left of the words. There are beautiful miniature paintings of court scenes on a pair of opening pages; each has a pool with ducks (left) or geese (right) in the courtyard; the scenes are so delicately painted that the artist must have used brushes with single hairs; the bottom of the last page has a delicate gold and floral painting. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M089. Binding; dark brown, embossed leather, the recesses filled with gold leaf on covers and on "flap'; envelope binding; inside covers are in brown leather with blue medallions and blue corners decorated in gold. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.Manuscript.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 105Origin: As appears in colophon on p.971, copied by ʻAlī ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥasan al-Qalbī [al-Qulaybī?] al-Ḥanafī, perhaps assisted by those he names. Transcription finished ("qad waqaʻa al-farāgh min intisākh al-sharḥ al-sharīf...") 1 Muḥarram 1163 [ca. 11 December 1749]. As appears in authorial colophon on p.970, composition completed mid-Shaʻbān 1008 [February-March 1600] in Mecca.Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 41. Commentary on Shamail."Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap, though now lost) ; board linings in yellow laid paper ; flyleaves (made endpapers) in marbled paper (blue, orange, pink, green) ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped and gold-painted mandorla and pendants filled with vegetal decoration along with gold-painted border of tooled fillets framing a guilloché roll in a series of s-shaped stamps ; sewn in green and pink thread, two stations ; worked endbands in mustard and green, partially intact at head and tail ; quires from first half of codex are entirely detached ; spine has only partially retained leather covering ; second half of volume retains spine covering and intact sewing ; housed in box for protection.Support: European laid paper with 12 laid lines per cm. (vertical) and chain lines spaced 25 mm. apart (horizontal) ; watermarks include lion statant guardant.Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān) at opening of table of contents on p.4, consisting of rectangular piece carrying empty gold cartouche flanked by red and green floral motifs on fields of lilac surmounted by a semi-circular (dome) piece with red flowers and sea-green vegetal motif on a field of lilac ; fillets in red as border ; table of contents ruled in red ; splended illuminated headpiece (ʻunwan) at opening of text on p.20 ; consists of a w-shaped piece (with floral vegetal decoration in white, lilac, orange, etc. on fields of blue, gold, and sea-green) set in richly decorated well in red, gold, black, and maroon ; surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue, orange, red, and gold ; two rectangular panels sit below the well, the upper bears a cartouche carrying the basmalah flanked by panels with floral motif in red, copper, lilac on a field of gold, a design which continues in the lower rectangular panel ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by a frame consisting of a heavy gold band outlined by black and red fillets ; illuminated rosettes serve as textual dividers on the incipit and facing page ; elsewhere written area surrounded by red rule-border ; keywords rubricated ; overlining in red ; occasional textual dividers in the form of inverted commas.Script: Naskh-nastaʻlīq and naskh ; several hands ; naskh-nastaʻlīq sans serif with mainly closed counters, leftward tilt, and pointing in strokes rather than dots ; hand changes at p.115 to a neat naskh partially seriffed with serif on initial lām, ṭāʼ, etc., pointing in distinct dots, and open counters ; at p.211 changes to a heavier, bolder naskh, partially seriffed with rightward hook for serif on initial lām, leftward hooks for lām and alif in lām-alif, superscripting of final letters on line ; at p.251 returns to naskh-nastaʻlīq ; at p.323 changes to a naskh with slight leftward tilt, serifless, dot of final nūn assimilated with bowl, pointing in strokes rather than distinct dots ; at p.512 returns to naskh-nastaʻlīq with heavy head-serifs for lām and freestanding alif, pointing in dots rather than strokes ; at p.929 returns to initial naskh-nastaʻlīq.Layout: Written in 23 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, III (6), VI+1 (19), 3 V(49), IV (57), 4 V(97), IV (105), 5 V(155), III (161), VI (173), VII (187), 2 V(207), IV+ 1 (216), 5 V(266), II (270), 5 V(320), II (324), 8 V(404), II (408), 5 V(458), III (464), V (474), IV (482), III (488), i ; mainly quinions ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied during digitization, skips a page after p.974 and then repeats p.974).Colophon: "Scribal," triangular, reads: "قد وقع فراغ من انتساخ الشرح الشريف بون الله الملك اللطيف على ايدي [؟] العباد الفقير الى رحمة العفو القدير علي بن حسين بن حسن القليبي [؟] الحنفي الحامل القران اوصله الله تعالى الى الرضوان و عاملهم الله باللطف و الغضران و سيد عثمان و خليل و ايوب و عمر و ابراهيم و سيد محمد اصلح الله تعالى حالهم و غفر الله لهم و لوالديهم امين بجاه النبي الامين يوم الخميس الاول من المحرم المحرم المعظم لشهور سنة ثلث و ستين و ماية و الف من الهجرة من له العز و الشرف الحمد لله و صلى الله على نبيه و مصطفاه و على اله و اصحابه الطيبين الطاهرين المتبعين بطريقته تم"Explicit: "و الله سبحانه اعلم تحقيقا و بعونه يوجد العلم لغيره توفيقا و الحمد لله اولا و اخرا و الصلوة و السلام على صاحب المقام المحمود باطنا و ظاحرا"Incipit: "الحمد الله خلق الخلق و الا خلاق و الا رزاق و الا فعال ... اما بعد فيقول افقر عباد الله الغني الباري علي بن سلطان محمد القاري لما كان موضوع علم الحديث ذات النبي ... و من احسن ما صنف في شمائل و اخلاقه صلى الله تعالى عليه و سلم كتاب الترمذي المختصر الجامع في سيره على وجه الوجيه الاتم ... احببت ان ادخل في زمرة الخادمين بشرح ذلك الكتاب ... و سميته جمع الوسائل في شرح الشمائل"Title from opening on p.22.Ms. codex.Elegant copy of a commentary on al-Tirmidhī's Shamāʼil, a work on the characteristics of the Prophet. Description provided mainly by Sarah Mirza.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 683Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; paper, etc. suggests 18th century.Accompanying materials: a. Acquisitions slip from Yahuda -- b. Inventory cataloguing slip in hand of Winifred Smeaton Thomas.Former shelfmark: From verso of front flyleaf "IL 362" (likely supplied by Yahuda, see acquisitions slip).Binding: Boards covered in dark purple cloth with black leather over spine (quarter binding) ; Western style binding ; pastedowns and flyleaves in paper printed with floral / landscape design in shades of blue, tan, olive green, and white ; upper and lower covers carry embossed central ornament (oval scrollwork design) ; raised bands on spine, accented with stamped (turquoise-colored onlays) bands and floral motifs ; sewn in white thread, five stations, stab sewn as well ; stuck-on endbands in black and yellow ; overall in fairly good condition with minor abrasion and staining.Support: European laid paper with 11 laid lines per cm. (horizontal), chain lines spaced 22-24 mm. apart (vertical), and watermarks of crown above grapes (see p.20, 24, etc.) alternating with "P S" (see p.22, 26, etc.), thin though sturdy, well-burnished, dark cream to beige in color ; some foxing, staining and tide lines.Decoration: Illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.10 consisting of rectangular piece with empty gold cartouche flanked by lavender floral motifs surmounted by scalloped semi-circular piece (dome) filled with swirling floral vegetal motifs in lavender, pink, salmon, white, etc. on a gold ground, entire piece surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue and red and set in a well of pink with red accents ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by gold frame, elsewhere written area (including margin) surrounded by red rule-border ; keywords, section headings and abbreviation symbols (mainly two-teeth stroke over keywords) rubricated ; grid of table of contents outlined in red ; textual dividers in the form of gold discs on incipit and facing page ; overlining in red.Script: Nastaʻlīq (talik) ; two elegant Turkish hands ; opening two works in an elegant nastaʻlīq (talik), characteristically serifless with effect of tilt to the right and of words descending to baseline, elongation of horizontal strokes, letterforms characteristic of nastaʻlīq (talik) ; final work in another nastaʻlīq (talik) similar to the first hand but with greater effect of words descending to baseline, thicker line and exaggerated thickness of horizontal strokes.Layout: Written in 29 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, IV (8), V (18), V+1 (29), 23 V(259), i ; chiefly quinions ; fol.110-111 and 112-113 bound in reverse order ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (includes flyleaves).Incipit: [Fetava-yi Ali Efendi] "الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على سيدنا محمد واله كتاب الطيبين الطاهرين الطهارة [الطيبين الطاهرين كتاب الطهارة] زيد جنب ايكن ذكر وتسبيح والصلوة على النبى ايتمك جائز اولورمى الجواب اولور ..." ; [Tarjīḥ al-bayānāt] ; "الحمد لله عظيم البرهان وعميم الاحسان ... فان افقر عباد الله السبحان عبد السيد الرحمن بن سليمان الشهير بخصالى بين الاجناب والاخوان قد اختصر هذا الرسالة بحسب الامكان في الكتب المعتبرة البيان ..." ; [Maruzat-ı Ebussuud] "الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على سيدنا خاتم النبيين وعلى اله وصحبه اجمعين اما بعد سعادتلى وفضيلتلى ومروتلى سلطانم حضرتلرينه عرض داعى منشالرى بو در كه بوندن اقدم مرحوم سيخ الاسلام ... حضرت ابو السعود ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.7. p.519-520 : [assorted excerpts].6. p.504-p.518 : [Maruzat-ı Ebussuud] / Ebussuud Efendi.5. p.482-p.503 : Tarjīḥ al-bayānāt / ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sulaymān, al-shahīr bi-Khilāṣī.4. p.478-p.481 : [blank].3. p.10-p.477 : Fetava-yi Ali Efendi / Ali Efendi Çatalcalı.2. p.8-p.9 : [blank].1. p.3-p.7 : [added contents listing and table of contents].Fine copy of the collection of legal decisions (fetvas) by Ali Efendi (d.1692), followed by Tarjīḥ al-bayānāt, a work of fiqh in Arabic by Hisâlî Abdurrahman Çelebî bin Süleyman bin Eyüp Sârûhânî (d.1676) and Maruzat-ı Ebussuud, a collection of legal decisions (fetvas) issued by Abū al-Suʻūd al-ʻImādī (Ebussuud Efendi, d.1574) and sanctioned by Sultan Süleyman I (r.1520-1566).
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 158Origin: As appears in colophon on p.52, al-Arbaʻūn al-Nawawīyah copied in the Aḥmadīyah madrasah with transcription finished in Ramaḍān 1121 [?] [November 1709?]. As appears in colophon on p.93, Sharḥ Īsāghūjī copied by Ismāʻīl ibn Zunayl [?] with no mention of date of transcription. As appears in colophon on p.136, transcription of al-Iʻrāb ʻan qawāʻid al-iʻrāb completed in the year 1096 [1684 or 5]. As appears in colophon on p.231, al-Ḥamdīyah copied by ʻUmar ibn Ḥusayn with transcription completed in the year 1085 [1674 or 5]. As appears in colophon on p.324, final work also copied by ʻUmar ibn Ḥusayn al-Zamwānī [?] with transcription completed in the year 1084 [1673 or 4].Accompanying materials: Scrap with notes (paginated pp.55-56).Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 104. Tracts on grammar, etc."Binding: Pasteboards covered in marbled paper (in dark blue, light pink, white) with dark red leather over spine, foreedge flap and edges/turn-ins ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in laid paper ; sewn in bright blue (cyan), yellow, and lime green thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in light blue and cream, in fair condition ; overall in poor condition with significant abrasion, some lifting of paper and leather, etc.Support: European laid paper of several types ; opening work supplied on a European paper with 12-13 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 22 mm. apart (horizontal), watermark in crown with studded pendant, thin though sturdy, and burnished ; second and third works supplied on a European paper with 7 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 28-30 mm. apart (horizontal), crown star crescent watermark (compare Heawood 1132), well-burnished, thick and sturdy ; next work and excerpts supplied on a European paper with 11 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 28 mm. apart (horizontal), scrollwork/coat of arms watermark, extremely smooth and well-burnished (to glossy) ; final work on a European paper with 11 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 33 mm. apart (horizontal), coat of arms watermark with lions flanking cross in shield above two circles ('AS' in upper circle), thin, smooth and well-burnished.Decoration: Keywords, section headings, and abbreviations symbols rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of red discs ; overlining in red.Script: Naskh and naskh-nastaʻlīq ; several hands ; opening work in an elegant naskh with subtle head serifs on occasional initial lām and freestanding alif, tilt to the left, mainly open counters, mainly curvilinear descenders, final hāʼ or tāʼ marbūtah assimilated with preceding rāʼ or dāl, fully vocalized ; al-Iʻrāb in fine naskh-nastaʻlīq [closer to nastaʻlīq] virtually serifless with mainly closed counters, effect of words descending to baseline (occasionally more exaggerated), letterforms characteristic of nastaʻlīq ; following works in fine naskh similar to opening hand though virtually serifless with tilt to the left, mainly closed counters, many curvilinear descenders, pointing in distinct dots.Layout: Written in 11, 15 and 17 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: 2 V (20), III (26), 3 V(56), V+1 (67), V (77), V+1 (88), 3 V(118), V+1 (129), 2 V(149), I (151), V (161), i ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes insert and back flyleaf).Incipit:Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. composite codex.10. p.325-p.326 : [excerpts and calligraphic excercises].9. p.242-p.324 : [Sharḥ al-Bināʼ ?].8. p.232-p.241 : [mainly blank with a few excerpts].7. p.140-p.231 : [al-Ḥamdīyah : Ḥāshiyah ʻalá Sharḥ dībājat al-Miṣbāḥ] / Aḥmad ibn ʻImād.6. p.137-p.139 : [blank].5. p.96-p.136 : al-Iʻrāb ʻan qawāʻid al-iʻrāb / Ibn Hishām.4. p.94-p.95 : [mainly blank with a few prayers, excerpts, etc.].3. p.54-p.93 : [Sharḥ Īsāghūjī] / Ḥusām al-Dīn Kātī.2. p.53 : [blank].1. p.2-p.52 : [al-Arbaʻūn al-Nawawīyah] / al-Nawawī.Fine composite collection (majmūʻah / mecmua) of works on hadith, logic, grammar, etc.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 260Origin: Lacks dated scribal colophon ; decoration, paper, etc. may suggest 16th century ; authorial colophon on p.418 indicates date of composition Ṣafar 890 [February-March 1485].Accompanying materials: a. Slip with notes (paginated pp.17-18) -- b. Blank slip (paginated pp.53-54) -- c. Slip with notes (paginated pp.99-100).Former shelfmark: "١٢٦" possible former inventory mark on recto of front flyleaf ; "331 T. D. M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on verso of front flyleaf.Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark maroon leather with black leather over spine, fore edge flap, and edges/turn-ins (likely repairs) ; Type II binding (with flap) ; doublures in dark brown leather with central gold-painted four-lobed floral motif ; fore edge flap lined in green silk ; upper and lower covers carry stamped and gold-painted scalloped mandorla (filled with vegetal decoration, compare Déroche OAi 6), pendants, and corner pieces, along with gold-painted border ; sewn in dark green-blue thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in brown and cream (head) and dark green and cream (tail), fair condition ; overall in fair condition with some abrasion, lifting and losses of leather, etc. ; housed in box for protection.Support: non-European (Persian) laid paper mainly with 6 laid lines per cm. (vertical) and no chain lines clearly visible, well-burnished to glossy, sturdy, transluscent, medium to dark cream in color ; toward close another crisp type with many inclusions (see p.387 to close) ; flyleaves in European laid paper (surface-dyed lavender and gold-flecked) ; added leaves at opening on European laid paper with watermarks of eagle, "GFA" and lion rampant in arms (see pp.1-4) ; staining and tide lines.Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) appears at opening on p.6, consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying the basmalah in white, overlaid with arabesque in green, surrounded by further vegetal decoration in gold, pink, blue, yellow, green, etc. on a field of lapis lazuli, and surounded by decorative band with blue crosses on a field of white and band of interlace in gold ; surmounted by another narrow rectangular piece containing similar vegetal design evoking arabesque on a field of lapis lazuli and surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) in blue ; keywords, abbreviation symbols, and text being commented upon in rubricated (light and dark red) ; textual dividers in the form inverted commas, letter hāʼ, etc. in red ; written area throughout surrounded by frame consisting of gold band flanked by black fillets with outermost blue rule (frame on incipit and facing page includes additional gold band) ; occasional diagrams in red and black (see p.20, 57, 87).Script: Nastaʻlīq and naskh ; text of sharḥ in nastaʻlīq, excerpts of Arabic poetry being commented upon in naskh ; nastaʻlīq compact with slight effect of words descending to baseline, elongation of horizontal strokes, letterforms characteristic of nastaʻlīq ; Persianate naskh mainly serifless, quite vertical and somewhat stiff though descenders are mainly curvilinear, with pointing in distinct dots.Layout: Written mainly in 21 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, I (2), *IV (9), 24 IV(201), IV+1 (210), i ; almost exclusively quaternions ; first two leaves of opening quaternion affixed to each other ; added leaves at opening of codex ruled for table of contents but left blank ; on pp.43-44 area within written area left blank (perhaps for diagrams or illustrations never realized) ; catchwords present ; foliation in red ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts and added leaves and skips two pages each between pp.239-240, 237-238, and 267-268).Explicit: "مهما ترى صف عقد من مديحهم في نظمه ود زهر الحق تضمينا"Incipit: "سپاس وسعادة اساس وشكر عبادة لباس معبودى را كه اعلام نبوة وولاية در ميدان فتوة وهداية ..."Title from inscription on 'title page' (p.5).Ms. codex.Fine copy of the commentary by Qāḍī Mīr Ḥusayn ibn Muʻīn al-Dīn al-Maybūdī al-Yazdī (d.1504?) on the collection (dīwān) of Arabic poetry attributed to ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ca. 600-661), opening with the Favātiḥ-i sabʻah.
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldHand: Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: "Manuscript description based on the Bodleian Library's public card index of Persian manuscripts with additional enhancements by the Fihrist project team."
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldHand: Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: "Manuscript description based on the Bodleian Library's public card index of Persian manuscripts with additional enhancements by the Fihrist project team."
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 120Origin: As appears on p.201, transcription of Sharḥ ashkāl al-taʼsīs likely completed in 878 [1473 or 4]. Paper throughout certainly suggests 15th century.Accompanying materials: Several inserted slips wtih notes, geometric diagrams, etc. (paginated pp.169-170, pp.171-172, pp.181-182, pp.183-184, pp.195-196, pp.217-218).Former shelfmark: British Museum, London "No. 148. Al-Mulakhkhas & Ashkal al-tasis." ; "٤٤٨" on tail edge.Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather (interesting grain) ; perhaps Type II binding (with flap, though now lost [?]) ; board linings in laid paper over marbled paper ; upper and lower covers bear blind-stamped, scalloped mandorla filled with floral vegetal composition (compare Déroche class. OSv 1) ; sewn mainly in blue thread, two stations, with repaired sections in white thread, four stations ; worked endbands in light blue, in very poor condition and nearly lost ; overall in poor condition with flap entirely lost [?], severe moisture damage, much abrasion, staining, lifting and losses of leather, delamination of boards, etc. ; repair to spine in red leather ; ill-fitting and perhaps not original to codex.Support: non-European laid paper with 20 laid lines in 22-23 mm. (vertical) ; chain lines (horizontal) grouped in threes with 9-12 mm. between the chains and 47-48 between the groups ; staining and severe moisture damage (often obscuring text) ; occasional repairs.Decoration: Keywords, abbreviations, and some notabilia (side-heads) rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of inverted commas and overlining in red ink ; numerous diagrams mainly in red ink.Script: Nastaʻlīq (talik) and naskh ; several hands ; first work supplied in a nastaʻlīq, sparsely pointed, virtually serifless and freely ligatured, with mainly closed counters, effect of words descending to baseline, and elongation of horizontal strokes ; Sharḥ Ashkāl al-taʼsīs in naskh with influence of nastaʻlīq, virtually serifless.Layout: Written in 19-25 lines per page ; frame-ruled.Collation: i, 6 V(60), IV-2 (66), III-2 (70), 2 V(90), II (94), III (100), i ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present (occasionally lacking) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes inserts and flyleaves ; skips from p.184 to p.187).Incipit: "الحمد لله الذي جعل الشمس ضياء والقمر نورا ... وبعد فلا اقسم بمواقع النجوم ... الحمد هو الثناء باللسان على الجميل ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.8. p.203-p.215 : Matn Ashkāl al-taʼsīs / Muḥammad ibn Ashraf al-Samarqandī.7. p.202 : [originally blank, now carries diagram, etc.].6. p.143-201 : [Sharḥ Ashkāl al-taʼsīs fī ʻilm al-handasah] / Qāḍīʹzādah.5. p.140-p.142 : [blank].4. p.136-p.139 : [brief treatise].3. p.133-135 : [blank].2. p.129-p.132 : [assorted tables (jadāwil)].1. p.4-p.128 : Sharḥ al-Jighmīnī / Qāḍīʹzādah.Fine copy of two commentaries by Mūsá ibn Muḥammad Qāḍīʼzādah al-Rūmī (d. ca. 1436), the first on Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad al-Jaghmīnī's (d. 1221?) al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʼah on astronomy and the latter on Ashkāl al-taʼsīs, selected theorems from Euclid's Elements by Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ashraf al-Samarqandī (13th cent.). Accompanied by assorted astronomical tables, another brief treatise, and the matn of al-Samarqandī's Ashkāl al-taʼsīs.
Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 448Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; decoration, hand, paper, etc. would suggest 16th century.Accompanying materials: Slip of wove paper with notes in pencil "448 (Kasidat) al-Burdah Poem by al-Busiri 16th cent."Former shelfmark: "239 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on recto of front flyleaf ; "122" inscribed in pencil on 'title page.'Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark red leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings and narrow hinges in pale orange laid paper ; upper and lower covers carry central rectangular panel filled with gold-tooled and painted semé pattern as well as further accents in gold-tooled rosettes and border consisting of a series of s-shaped stamps with flanking gold-painted fillets ; now sewn in pink thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in pink and yellow, fairly good condition ; overall in good condition minor abrasion, etc.Support: non-European (likely Persianate) laid paper with 6-7 laid lines per cm. (vertical, somewhat distinct) and occasional single chain line visible, thick and sturdy, well-burnished, dark cream in color ; flyleaves and added leaves in European laid paper with 9 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 26-27 mm. apart (horizontal), and watermark of bird with "G B" below ; much staining and tidelines.Decoration: Exquisite (though damaged) frontispiece consisting of a double-page illumination carries the opening verses and elucidation in Persian set-off by cloud-bands, with adjacent scalloped triangular piece (or hasp), elaborate borders (outermost accented with perpendicular stalks [tīgh]), and upper and lower panels all carrying swirling vegetal design in shades of red, blue, lavender, green, white, and gold on fields of black, gold, and lapis lazuli ; written area throughout surrounded by frame in gold and green bands with outermost blue rule ; text of the Burdah mainly chrysographed, with some lines in blue ; textual dividers in the form of illuminated rosettes set off each hemistich ; illuminated floral decoration flanks elucidation in Persian.Script: Naskh and nastaʻlīq (talik) ; elegant Persianate and Turkish hands ; text of Burdah in a fine Persianate naskh, serifless, with curvilinear descenders and pointing in distinct dots, vocalized ; text of Persian elucidation in a fine nastaʻlīq with characteristic descent of words to baseline and elongation of horizontal strokes ; marginal Turkish elucidation in an elegant nastaʻlīq (talik).Layout: Written in 12 lines per page with 6 additional lines of the Turkish elucidation on the diagonal in the outer margin ; three verses of the poem in 6 lines (filling the column width) with each saṭr and ʻajuz to a line) and elucidation in 6 lines (four on the diagonal, two horizontal but centered).Collation: ii, IV-1+1 (8), 2 IV(24), II+2 (30), ii ; almost exclusively quaternions ; catchwords present.Explicit: " ... واطرب العيس حادي العين بالنغم ... تا برانند اشترانرا بنده گان پر نغم ... اشترمتسه طرب ويردكجه تأثير نغم تم الترجمة بالخير م م"Incipit: "امن تذكر جيران بذي سلم مزجت دمعا جرى من مقلة بدم ای زیاد صحبت یارانت اندر ذی سلم اشک چشم امیختی با خون روان گرده بهم ..."Title supplied by cataloguer.Ms. codex.Fine copy of al-Būṣīrī's poem in praise of the Prophet accompanied by elucidation in Persian and Turkish.