Talismanic scroll with metal case

Title:

Talismanic scroll with metal case
طومار مع غلاف معدني

Contributor:

Abdülhamid II, Sultan of the Turks, former owner
Ḥusayn Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī al-Khurāsānī, scribe
حسين ابراهيم ابن محمد الحسيني الخراساني، ناسخ

Date:

[1327? and 17--?].

Description:

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

Language:

Arabic

Type (Narrower):

Manuscripts

Type (Broader):

Text

Subject:

Manuscripts, Persian
Manuscripts, Arabic
Amulets (Islam)
Talismans

Geographic region:

Africa, North
Middle East
Spain
Islamic Empire

Extent:

1 roll : paper ; (4425 x 104-112 mm) + 1 metal case (145 x 54 mm).

Rights:

Public Domain

Format:

Book
Manuscript/Archive
Online
Print

Same as:

https://search.lib.umich.edu/catalog/record/006795778

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