Manuscripts in Riqa Script 36 items

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 220

Origin: As appears in colophon at end of roll, main section copied by Ḥusayn Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī al-Khurāsānī with transcription completed in Dhū al-Ḥijjah 727 [?] [October-November 1327?] ; opening section (and repairs to main section) certainly much later than main section, perhaps 18th or 19th century.

Accompanying material: a. Metal case in the form of a cylinder decorated with incised diamond pattern with lid (only slightly convex) ; case retains one ring through which a cord may have passed, a second ring has been lost -- b. Waxy, brown oil cloth now in two pieces which once wrapped roll inside case.

Support: Each section in a distinct paper type ; opening section (first 895 mm., roughly 104-107 mm. wide, three pieces of paper) in type with roughly 10-11 laid lines per cm. (parallel with the length of the roll, fairly distinct) and no chain lines or watermarks plainly visible, dense and sturdy, burnished ; bulk of roll (roughly 3530 mm., 110-112 mm. wide, at least six pieces of paper) on a non-European (likely Persian) paper, highly sized and burnished, reinforced with further paper backing and repairs.

Decoration: Text of opening section bordered by red double-rule border, table / jadwal with ninety-nine names ruled in red, border texts defined by red rules, openings with depiction of the "seal of prophecy" (مهر نبوت) here "صوره مهر نبوت حضرت رسالت پناهی" ; main section opens with a long cartouche (oriented along the length of the roll) with illuminated heading "اسماء الله تعالى" in thuluth and basmalah in plaited and knotted kufic, a central field filled with floral and vegetal designs executed in micrography, bordering lozenges and alternating circles filled with further micrography (mainly chrysographed, some in blue and black) and Qurʼānic texts in large tawqīʻ approaching thuluth (chrysographed), and further border of rubricated Qurʼānic text in fine riqāʻ ; an even longer cartouche appears next, with illuminated headings for each of several sections ("من اسماء الله تعالى نودونه نام،" "هذا دعاء حرز الاماني،" اسماء الاربعون") which are each in a different layout incorporating the nintey-nine names, Qurʼānic and prayer texts in ghubār, naskh, thuluth, tawqīʻ, etc. in gold, red, black and some blue in a highly symmetrical fashion, with the various elements defined by heavy bands of gold flanked by red double-rules.

Script: [opening section] Naskh and tawqīʻ ; [main section] Naskh, thuluth, tawqīʻ, riqāʻ, ghubār, plaited and knotted kufic.

Layout: [opening section] central written area in a single column (text written perpendicular to length of the roll) bordered in Qurʼānic and ḥadīth texts along the length of the roll, ninety-nine names arranged in a ruled table / jadwal (five cells wide by twenty cells tall), text following the heading for "the prayer of the bāzūband" ("دعا بازوبند حضرت شاه ولايت پناه") in 26 lines ; [main section] an elaborate arrangement of text consisting of a central narrow panel filled with text first arranged in a series of diagonal arrays (each read across in a zig-zag fashion), next in a series of five circles executed in micrography, and finally in rectangular fields of roughly nine horizontal lines, all interspersed with headings and surrounded by two heavy borders of cartouches, circles and rectangles filled with Qurʼānic and prayer texts in various scripts, closing with dedication and colophon.

Dedication: "اللهم وخل بدخلك [؟] دوله الامير الاعدل الاعظم الاعلم الاشجع الاكرم سلطان الامراء في العالم انك دولت همه از دولت اوحي طلبنا والملك العادل ... خلد الله تعالى ملكه ودولته الى يوم الدين"

Colophon: "كتبه العبد حسين ابراهيم ابن محمد الحسيني الخراساني في ذي الحجة سنه سبع وعشرين وسبعمائة [؟]"

Incipit: "صوره مهر نبوت حضرت رسالت پناهی ..."

Title supplied by cataloguer.

Ms. roll.

[main section] اسماء الله تعالى -- من اسماء الله تعالى نودونه نام -- هذا دعاء حرز الاماني -- اسماء الاربعون

[opening section] صوره مهر نبوت حضرت رسالت پناهی -- نودونه نام باری تعالی -- دعا بازوبند حضرت شاه ولایت پناه

Composite talismanic scroll (rotulus, i.e. opening vertically) consisting of two sections of distinct production, now joined. Originally wrapped in oil cloth and housed in metal case.

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 228

Origin: As appears in colophon, executed by Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī [ibn Aḥmad] al-Ziftāwī in the first tenth of Muḥarram 783 [March-April 1381].

Binding: Pasteboards covered in a light brown leather ; Western style binding ; pastedowns and flyleaves in heavy untinted wove paper ; upper and lower covers carry decoration evoking the Islamic style with central oval ornament (wreath stamped in green) and cornerpieces (scrolling vegetal motifs stamped in green) as well as stamped border of repeating floral / shell pattern in red ; sewn in white thread over three heavy white cords (flexible sewing) ; no endbands ; paper label on spine ; in fairly good condition though sewing exposed between a few separated gatherings.

Support: non-European (Arab) laid paper with chain lines grouped in threes running horizontally, spaced roughly 12-15 mm. apart with roughly 42 mm. between the groups ; laid lines running vertically spaced roughly 9 laid lines per cm. ; heavy and well-burnished with undissolved fibers and inclusions visible ; staining ; numerous reinforcements and repairs throughout, mainly guards but also fills (see first folio carrying the titlepiece and opening).

Decoration: Exquisite, richly illuminated titlepiece ; ansa in the form of roundel with rosette attached to upper panel, which is surmounted by fine arabesque and vertical stalks in blue, lavender, gold, green, etc. ; upper panel contains cartouche carrying title in foliated Kufic lettered in gold on a field of blue with green swirling vegetal pattern ; lower panel contains large scalloped medallion (shamsah) carrying statement of authorship and ex libris lettered in gold with lined cloud-bands and vegetal accents, surrounded by a field of blue with floral vegetal design in gold, lavender, and green ; decorative strapwork border in gold surrounds entire piece ; illuminated headpiece consisting of a rectangular panel with roundel/rosette ansa ; within the panel, the basmalah is executed in gold accented with cloud-bands and cross-hatch pattern ; illuminated tailpiece consists of a rectangular panel with roundel/rosette ansa ; within the panel two roundels with rosettes flank the date of transcription accented with cloud-bands and cross-hatch pattern ; a red rule-border outlines the text itself, with illuminated rosettes flanking the lines of the amplification (takhmīs) ; on the opening and facing page, rosettes in blue and gold along with roundel in gold bearing word "تخميس" [?] ; text partially chrysographed with final words of each line in gold.

Script: Very fine Mamlūk calligraphy ; saṭr and first words of ʻajuz for each bayt in thuluth (verging on tawqīʻ), final words of ʻajuz in tawqīʻ and amplification in serifless naskh ; text and takhmīs fully vocalized ; title of titlepiece in foliated Kufic ; ex libris of titlepiece in tawqīʻ ; text of tailpiece in riqāʻ verging on tawqīʻ.

Layout: Written in 12 lines per page, 3 lines of the poem and 9 of the amplification, with the saṭr and first few words of the ʻajuz of each bayt filling the column width horizontally and the remainder of the ʻajuz appended slanting down diagonally, and three lines of amplification centered below the saṭr and first few words of the ʻajuz ; frame-ruled.

Collation: i, III (6), II (4), 4 I(18), I+1 (21), 2 I(25), I+1 (28), i ; difficult to discern original gatherings, but appears to consist mainly in single bifolia (singulions) ; no catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.

Colophon: "Scribal," reads: "تمت مع التخميس بحمد الله وعونه وصلى الله على نبيه محمد كتبها محمد بن علي الشهير بالزفتاوي عفا الله عنه بكرمه في العشر الاول من شهر الله المحرم افتتاح عام ثلاث وثمانين وسبعمائة حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل"

Explicit: "ما رنحت عذبات البان ريح صبا واطرب العيس حادي العيس بالنغم"

Incipit: "بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين ما بال قلبك لا ينفك ذا ألم ... امن تذكر جيران بذي سلم مزجت دمعا جرى من مقلة بدم ..."

Title from titlepiece.

Ms. codex.

An elegant copy of al-Būṣīrī's poem in praise of the Prophet with its amplification (takhmīs) by Nāṣir al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Fayyūmī (mid-14th century), as well as a fine specimen of Mamlūk calligraphy as executed by al-Ziftāwī (d.806/1403 or 4).

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 231

Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; decoration and calligraphy reminiscent of the Timurid style characteristic of late 15th century Herat ; paper would also suggest late 15th or possibly early 16th century ; binding would suggest 16th century.

Former shelfmark: "224 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on interior of upper cover ; "196" inscribed in pencil on 'title page' (p.1).

Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; board linings in lined paper pasted over brown leather doublures, likely with leather filigree appliqué, see interior of envelop flap ; upper and lower covers carry large gold-stamped panel stamp (repeated twice to fill the entire area) filled with symmetrical vegetal design incorporating chi clouds, as well as border in a series of lozenge- and rosette-shaped stamps with outermost series of tooled s-shapes ; sewn in red thread, two stations ; overall in somewhat poor condition with lifting and losses of leather, abrasion, staining, etc.

Support: non-European (likely Persian) laid paper with roughly 7 laid lines per cm. (vertical) and sporadic chain lines mainly visible only in short lengths ; thick and sturdy though crisp ; well-sized and burnished ; machine laid paper stabilizing opening leaf carries an embossed mark (or "imitation watermark") reads "اثر جديد عهد همايون".

Decoration: Exquisite illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.2, consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying sūrah heading in white and defined by looping white banding (with black crosses) on grounds of gold and lapis lazuli overlaid with swirling vegetal pattern, all bordered in a series of elaborate bands in gold, white, lapis lazuli, black, red, turquoise, etc. ; surmounted by a narrower rectangular panel carrying lozenges filled with delicate vegetal decoration, itself surmounted by an uppermost semi-circular piece (dome) evoking half of an eight-lobed piece (defined by looping white banding) in gold and lapis lazuli with arabesque in turquoise and further swirling vegetal decoration, all surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) ; simpler illuminated headpiece consisting of rectangular panel with cartouche carrying the sūrah heading in white on a gold ground flanked by accent pieces in gold and lapis lazuli with swirling vegetal pattern and surrounded by bands of white, gold, blue, red, etc. appears at opening of each sūrah thereafter (p.16, p.28, p.37, and p.43) ; verse dividers in the form of interlace rosettes in gold with black, red, and blue accents appear throughout ; marginal decoration in the form of roundels in blue, green, and gold with "عشر" in white 'Kufic' script, other roundels in gold and blue with what appears to be "خمس" in white (many effaced) ; written area throughout surrounded by elaborate frame consisting of a series of narrow bands in gold, light blue, dark brown to red, turquoise, and lapis lazuli ; floral decoration in blue, gold, red, and black reminiscent of the central decorative panel and pendants of a book cover flank the centered lines ; upper, middle, and lower large lines chrysographed (vocalization in black).

Script: Fine calligraphic specimen ; elegant Persian hand ; lines in upper and lower panels of each page in muḥaqqaq, line in central panel in thuluth, lines in intermediate panels in naskh, sūrah headings in riqāʻ ; partially seriffed (mainly right-sloping wedge head-serif) ; fully vocalized.

Layout: Written in 9 lines per page with uppermost, middle, and lowermost large lines filling the column width and two sets of three compact lines centered between them ; frame-ruled.

Collation: 3 IV (24) ; exclusively quaternions ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals (supplied during digitization).

Title supplied by cataloguer.

Ms. codex.

5. p.43-p.47 : Sūrat al-Nabaʼ.

4. p.37-p.43 : Sūrat al-Mulk.

3. p.28-p.36 : Sūrat al-Wāqiʻah.

2. p.16-p.28 : Sūrat al-Fatḥ.

1. p.2-p.16 : Sūrat Yāsīn.

Elegant copy of a selection of sūrahs (suwar) from the Qurʼān, namely Sūrat Yāsīn (36), Sūrat al-Fatḥ (48), Sūrat al-Wāqiʻah (56), Sūrat al-Mulk (67) and Sūrat al-Nabaʼ (78).

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 224

Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; dated statement on front flyleaf suggest a terminus ante quem of 1537 ; paper and hand certainly suggest late 15th or early 16th century.

Former shelfmark: "323 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on verso of front flyleaf (p.2) ; "224" inscribed in pencil on recto of front flyleaf (p.1) and 'title page' (p.15).

Binding: Pasteboards covered in brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; doublures in dark red leather ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped mandorla (filled with symmetrical vegetal decoration, compare Déroche class. NSd 7) and pendants with gold-painted accents and gold-tooled border ; sewn in yellow thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in yellow and pink, damaged with losses to head and tail ; overall in fairly good condition with some abrasion, staining, lifting of leather, fore edge flap too narrow, etc.

Support: non-European laid paper with 8 laid lines per cm. (vertical or horizontal, varies) and faint chain lines occasionally visible, often grouped in twos or threes (see p.22, 24, etc.) ; transluscent, thin and crisp, heavily sized and burnished, medium cream in color ; flyleaves in European laid paper.

Decoration: Exquisite, superbly executed illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening on p.16, consisting of rectangular piece with gold cartouche carrying the basmalah in white riqāʻ surmounted by scalloped semi-circular piece (dome) itself surmounted by vertical stalks (tīgh) ; both pieces decorated with swirling vegetal designs with floral accents in gold, white, pink, green, and orange on fields of gold and lapis lazuli ; written area of incipit and facing page surrounded by frame consisting of gold band flanked by black fillets ; keywords, section headings and abbreviation symbols (mainly two teeth stroke above keywords) rubricated ; textual dividers in the form of inverted commas in red.

Script: Naskh ; clear, compact hand ; serifless with slight effect of inclination to the left, pointing mainly in distinct dots, curvilinear descenders, partially vocalized ; opening table of contents in a fine, seriffed riqāʻ then nastaʻlīq (talik).

Layout: Written in 31 lines per page ; frame-ruled.

Collation: i, III (6), IV+1 (15), V (25), 1+IV (34), 8 V(114), III (120), 3 V(150), IV+1 (159), V (169), IV+1 (178), 5 V(228), II (232), 5 V(282), IV (290), i ; chiefly quinions ; leaves between sections left blank or partially blank ; several lacunae marked "بياض بالاصل" (see p.149, 482, 485, etc.) ; catchwords present ; foliation in black ink, Hindu-Arabic numerals ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes flyleaves).

Explicit: "هذا بسرا والثانية اطيب منه عنبا لا تضحت المسئلة وانكشفت معناها والله اعلم مسئلة سئلت عن اعراب تركيب وقع في بعض كتب الحنفية ... لانه عمل قبل وجود الشرظ وذلك باطل اجماع والله سبحانه وتعالى اعلم بالصواب"

Incipit: "سبحان الله المنزه عن الاشباه والنظائر والحمد لله المتفضل بغفران الكبائر والصغائر ... اما بعد فان فنون العربية على اختلاف انواعها هى اول فنوني ومبتدا الاخبار التي كان في احاديثها سمري وشجوني ... ومام سودت من ذلك كتاب ظريف ... ضمنته القواعد النحوية ذوات الاشباه والنظائر ... والفت كتاب الاشباه والنظائر مرتبا على اسلوب اخر يعرف من مراجعته وهذا الكتاب الذي شرعنا في تجديده في العربية يشبه كتاب القاضي تاج الدين الذي في الفقه ..."

Title from colophon for first half (p.284).

Ms. codex.

Fine copy of one of al-Suyūṭī's works on the Arabic language, following the method of the religious sciences (fiqh), with both parts (halves) of the text here appearing in a single volume. Preceded by detailed table of contents (pp.4-13) and followed by several other short texts (see pp.12-13 for listing).

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 356

Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; paper would suggest 16th or perhaps early 17th century ; dated calligraphic inscriptions (see p.9 and 11) provide terminus ante quem of 1640.

Former shelfmark: "264" inscribed in pencil on added leaf (p.5) ; "394 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on added leaf (p.6).

Binding: Pasteboards covered in dark brown leather ; Type III binding (without flap) ; board linings (doublures) in comb marbled paper (mainly in pink, blue, black, and yellow) ; upper and lower covers carry blind-stamped scalloped mandorla (filled with vegetal composition, compare Déroche class. OAi) with gold-painted accents and tooled border ; sewn in dark blue thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in blue and yellow, fair condition ; overall in somewhat poor condition with abrasion, staining, lifting and losses of leather, etc. ; housed in box for protection.

Support: non-European (perhaps Persian) and European laid papers of several types ; added leaves in a type with 9 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 26-27 mm. apart (horizontal) and crown-star-crescent watermark (see p.8, 10, 11, etc.), cream in color, sturdy and burnished ; main type with 10 laid lines per cm. (vertical), chain lines spaced 28-30 mm. apart (horizontal), and angel with wings (in circle) watermark (see p.170-171, etc.), thin but quite sturdy ; many leaves tinted (pink, etc.) and interspersed with silhouette or shadowed paper decorated in exquisite vegetal-floral (see pp.20, 33, 41, 51, 69, 165, etc.) and even textual (see p.31) compositions (some outlined or filled in ink or gold) ; to occasional leaves marbled or other decorative papers have been applied (see pp.72, 80, 91-92, 124, 125, etc.).

Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece at opening on p.20 consisting of large rectangular piece with empty gold cartouche surrounded by swirling floral vegetal accents in gold, red, white, pink, blue, etc. on grounds of gold and blue (lapis or cobalt), bordered in blue band with diamonds or crosses and surmounted by a small scalloped dome in similar design, itself surmounted by tall vertical stalks (tīgh) ; written area in opening section surrounded by a gold frame with devisions within also defined by gold bands ; in some sections headings (mainly poets' names) rubricated (see p.150, etc.) or chyrsographed (see p.172) ; extensive use of decorative papers (silhouette, marbled, gold-flecked, tinted, etc.) including one case where the calligraphic inscription has been cut away from a marbled paper and applied over a tinted leaf underneath (see p.124).

Script: Mainly nastaʻlīq (talik) and naskh ; elegant, even calligraphic Ottoman hands ; larger talik, thuluth and riqāʻ (see p.120, etc.), divani, etc. appear in some of the calligraphic inscriptions.

Layout: Highly variable, though some consistency according to calligraphic style employed ; in opening section written area divided to two columns with 10 lines (single hemistich to a line) on the diagonal per column and poet's name above, then a similar arrangement of lines in three larger columns (see p.24), followed by the smaller arrangment in two columns (see p.31), etc. ; an arrangment of 12-14 lines in two large columns also appears (see p.37, etc.) with some lines on the diagonal and others not ; another arrangement features 8 large lines (see p.87) ; still another features 25 hemistiches in 15 lines (see p.93, etc.).

Collation: I (2), III+1 (9), V-1 (18), V (28), III (34), IV (42), I+1 (45), IV (53), V-1 (62), 2 IV(78), 2 V(98), 2 III(110), I (112) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization (includes added leaves at opening and close of codex and the separate pieces of a leaf torn in three, see pp.109-110, 111-112, 113-114).

Incipit: "در جفا نیست احتیار ترا آزمودم هزار بار ترا ..."

Title from inscription on added leaf (p.5).

Ms. composite codex.

Elegant collection (majmūʻah / mecmua) featuring poetry in Persian and Ottoman Turkish, as well samples of fine calligraphy. Contributions to the cataloguing from Yasin Şale.