al-Mas̲navī al-Maʻnavī

Title:

al-Mas̲navī al-Maʻnavī
المثنوي المعنوي

Alternative title:

Mas̲navī
المثنوی المولوی المعنوی ‬
Mathnawī al-Maʻnawī
مثنوی
مثنوي

Creator:

Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Maulana
جلال الدين رومى, مولانا

Contributor:

Ḥamd Allāh ibn Qavām al-Dīn Niẓām Bayāsānī, scribe
Abdülhamid II, Sultan of the Turks, former owner
حمد الله بن قوام الدين نظام بياسانى، ناسخ

Date:

[1491 or 1492].

Description:

Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center Isl. Ms. 295Origin: As appears in colophon at close of fourth book (on margin of p.208) and in colophon at close of second book (p.510), copied by Ḥamd Allāh ibn Qavām al-Dīn Niẓām Bayāsānī [?] with transcription of fourth book completed 15 Jumādá II 896 [ca. 25 April 1491] and transcription of second book completed 7 Shaʻbān 896 [ca. 15 June 1491]. As appears in colophon on p.676, transcription of sixth book completed in 897 [1491 or 2]. As appears in final colophon on p.696, copying of third book completed in 896 [likely 1491].Former shelfmark: "444 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on verso of front flyleaf.Binding: Pasteboards covered in red-brown leather ; Type II binding (with flap) ; pastedowns and flyleaves in shell 'marbled' paper in red and blue ; lining of fore edge flap in block-printed textile (floral pattern in red and black) and same shell 'marbled' paper ; upper and lower covers carry scalloped mandorla (stamped gold onlays with symmetrical composition) and pendants, as well as gold-stamped guilloché border in a series of s-shaped stamps ; design continues on flap ; sewn in pink and then green thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in pink, yellow and dark blue, good condition ; overall in fairly good condition though likely not original and ill-fitting text block (flap too small) with some abrasion, minor pest damage, etc. ; housed in box for protection.Support: non-European (likely Persian) laid paper with roughly 8 laid lines per cm. (chiefly vertical, fairly indistinct) and no chain lines plainly visible, dense and sturdy though transluscent, dark cream to beige in color, well-burnished ; some moisture damage, staining and tide lines, pest damage ; repairs in non-European laid and wove paper.Decoration: Exquisite illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) at opening of each mujallad, for the first three books being rectangular pieces gold or lapis cartouche carrying title in white surrounded by arabesques, interlace, and floral motifs on grounds of gold and lapis with black, red, light blue, white, and turquoise / pistachio accents (see pp.2, 226, 512) and for the final three books (appearing on the margins) more typically diamond shapes of similar composition (see pp.2, 210, 522) ; written area and ruled margins throughout surrounded by gold frame with divisions within defined by narrow gold bands (outlined in black) ; keywords and section headings rubricated.Script: Nastaʻlīq ; elegant hand in a medium line ; characteristically serifless with gentle effect of words descending to baseline, elongation and contrasting thickness of horizontal strokes, sweeping descenders, pointing (somewhat casual) in distinct dots ; opening Arabic preface (and opening of fourth mujallad) in naskh, an elegant spacious hand, serifless with some sweeping descenders, adhering closely to baseline, pointing in distinct dots, extensively vocalized.Layout: Written in 20 lines per page in central written area, divided to two columns with an additional 42 lines on the diagonal in the margins ; frame-ruled.Collation: iv, IV+1 (10), 41 IV (338), 2 III ( 350), iii ; almost exclusively quaternions ; middle of the quire marks in the form of oblique strokes in black in in the upper outer corner of the right-hand leaf and lower outer corner of the left-hand leaf ; catchwords present (though occasionally lost to trimming) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.Colophon: [fourth book] "Scribal," triangular, reads "تمه المجلد الرابع من المثنوی فی یوم الاربعا خامس عشر شهر جمادی الاخر سنه سته تسعین وثمانمایه کتبه الفقیر حمد الله نظام بیاسانی [؟]" ; [second book] "Scribal," triangular, reads تمه المجلد الثانی من کتاب المثنوی المعنوی فی یوم الخامس سابع شعبان المعظم سنه سته تسعین وثمانمايه العبد الخالی [؟] حمد الله ابن قوام الدین نظام بیاسانی [؟]""Incipit: "هذا کتاب المثنوی وهو اصول اصول الدین فی کشف اسرار الاصل والیقین ..."Title from colophon of second book on p.510.Ms. codex.Elegant copy of Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī’s didactic poetical work in double verses with Arabic preface. Text of the first three books (mujallad / daftar) appears in the central written area with the text of the final three books provided concurrently on the diagonal in the margins. Contributions to the cataloguing from Elizabeth Kunze.

Language:

Persian

Type (Narrower):

Manuscripts

Type (Broader):

Text

Subject:

Manuscripts, Persian
Persian poetry 747-1500.
Masnavis, Persian Early works to 1800.
Sufi poetry, Persian Early works to 1800.

Time period:

747-1500

Extent:

350 leaves : paper ; 240 x 155 (140 x 72, 198 x 105) mm.

Rights:

Public Domain

Format:

Book
Manuscript/Archive
Online
Print

Same as:

https://search.lib.umich.edu/catalog/record/006812946

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