Manuscript. Persian. Title from fol. 2b. Written by Sulṭānmuḥammad al-Kātib. Probably written in Iran. Paper; thick, dark cream color laid paper with no visible chain lines or watermarks; elaborate unwan on fol. 2b in blue, gold, and red; fol. 1b-3a and 168b and 169b have elaborate floral decorations in margins; text enclosed in elaborate ruled border in blue-white-gold-red-green-gold; black ink with red section headings; catchwords. Nastaʻliq; 12 lines in written area 15 x 7 cm. Fol 1b and 2a have full page miniature paintings. Fol. 1b-169a (text: 2b-169a) Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M84. Binding; black grain with embossed medallions front and back. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
Manuscript. Persian. Title from colophon. Name of scribe not indicated. Probably written in India. Paper: coarse brownish poorly laid paper with no visible chain lines or watermarks; paper in poor condition and shows earlier reinforcement around edges; dampstaining on foredge; black ink with rubrication; catchwords on rectos. Nastaʻliq; 9-15 lines in written area 14 x 8 cm. Fol. 1b-128b. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M81. Disbound; original binding tan and black marbled cardboard; light brown leather spine; in container with manuscript. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
Manuscript. Persian. Caption title. Written by Ibn Murād al-Ḥusaynī Muḥammad Zamān. Probably written in Iran. Paper; unpolished, slightly yellowed cream color laid paper with horizontal laid lines and no visible chain lines or watermarks; elaborate floral unwan in gold, light blue, red and dark blue; title in red in gold cartouche; text on fol. 1b-2a has interlinear gold design; text enclosed in ruled border of a thin blue and a wider gold line; black ink with rubrication; catchwords. Rieu, C. Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts, I, 337 Work is dividedn into twelve Majlis, each has its own unwan and colophon. Nastaʻliq; 29 lines in written area 25 x 15.7 cm. Fol. 1b-321a. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M56. Text block intact, lacks binding. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website. Near East scanned
Manuscript. Persian. Caption title. Copied by ʻAlī ibn Ḥaydar al-Qāsimī. Probably written in Turkey. Paper; thin cream color lightly polished laid paper with no visible chain-lines or watermarks; elaborate unwan and first 3 leaves with decordations in blue and gold; text in 3 columns with text of Masnavi in 2 columns and a commentary written diagonally in the third; text enclosed in narrow ruled border of blue and gold; some rubrication; catchwords on rectos. Rypka, Jan. History of Iranian literature, p. 241 Rieu, Charles. Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, v. 2, p. 585-586 Nastaʻliq; 17 lines in written area 15 x 8 cm. Fol. 1b-551a. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M72. Elaborate contemporary brown leather binding with gold medallions in center and corners and a gold tooled border; more recently re-backed. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
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.
History of Shāh ʻAbbas of the Safavid dynasty and his predecessors. This early 19th-century manuscript contains a history of Shāh ʻAbbas (1571-1629, reigned 1588-1629) and his predecessors, composed in the late 16th or early 17th century by a contemporary. The manuscript most likely was written in Iran. The paper is a light cream, glazed laid stock. The text is written in nasta'liq script, 23 lines to the page, in black ink, with red ink used for headings, keywords, and some punctuation. Catchwords appear on verso pages. ʻAbbās I, also known as ʻAbbās the Great, was one of the most successful rulers of the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). He expelled Ottoman and Uzbek invaders from Persian soil and transferred the capital of the empire from Kazvin to Isfahan, which he then developed into one of the world's most beautiful cities. He introduced reforms that improved the lives of his subjects and cultivated new commercial and diplomatic relations with the European powers. Persian artistic achievement also reached its high point during his reign, as carpet weaving, ceramics, painting, and the production of illuminated manuscripts all flourished under his patronage. World Digital Library.
Dimensions: 257 × 189 mm (size of leaf).Record origin: "Description based on Emilie Savage-SmithRecord origin: A Descriptive Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts at St John's College (Oxford: Oxford University PressRecord origin: 2005)."Persian translation of the Book of Psalms by an unnamed translator.
Manuscript. Persian and Arabic. Title from colophon. Scribe not identified. Gift of Cyrus Ebrahim Zadeh, Nov. 9, 2009. Written in Iran? Paper: yellowish, polished cream color paper with no visible watermarks; black ink with highlighting and overlining in purple; catchwords. Naskh; 19-21 lines in written area 16.5 x 9 cm. Folio 1b-148a; Folio 146b-147b blank. Library of Congress. Manuscript, M304. Binding: flexible tan leather binding with embossed frame lines.