An'am-i Sharif, Manuscript

Type: Manuscript

Date: 1786-1787?

Setting: Turkey?

Produced By/For: ?

Contents: An'am-i Sharif, an Ottoman prayer book?

Shelf Mark: MS Victoria 1995-014

Location: Drawer 5A/09 (Acc. 1995-014)

Description by Jan Just Witkam, Professor of Paleography and Codicology of the Islamic World, Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands (2010)

MS Victoria 1995-014

Collective volume with texts in Arabic and Turkish, manuscript on brownish coloured European paper (with watermark, not further analyzed) of two different types (pp. 1-312, 313-412), 19.5 × 12.7 cm, 412 pp., written mostly in a bold, fully vocalized naskh script. Two (or possibly even three) hands can be distinguished: pp. 4-271, 272-310, 313-403, the first of which is of calligraphic quality, the others are less accomplished, and on p. 311 the colophon is written in thuluth script by the first or second copyist. The divide between the two sorts of paper coincides with the divide between hands. At the end of the volume (pp. 406-408) a Turkish text has been added, which is written in ruqʿa script within frames that were not used for the second part of the volume. The entire content of the volume is set within a composite frame (gold, red), black ink, with the use of gold and white ink, and several colours. Up till p. 311 the texts are written in 9 lines to the page (traces of the use of a misṭara), with cloud shaped divisions between the lines. From p. 313 onwards many calligraphic panels and drawings are given with a varied number of lines. The first part of the manuscript is dated 1201 (1786-1787), and was allegedly copied by Mūsā Efendi b. Ḥasan Efendi, a pupil of Ibrāhīm al-Rudūsī Efendi, but actually it was copied by Musṭạfā Ayyūb Efendīzāda (colophon on p. 311, see transcript and translation below). This first part has catchwords at the bottom of every verso page. Larger illuminations are on pp. 4 and 272, and in the text part there numerous smaller headings in white ink on a gold background. There are numerous illustrations in the second part (pp. 313-403). The volume is bound in a full-leather Islamic binding, with gilded ornamentation (borders, central medallion, corner pieces). Remnants of painted gold ornamentation on the edges (floral motifs) are still visible. [Professor Witkam's complete description is available through his .]

Taken from The Islamic Manuscripts in the McPherson Library, 番茄社区, Victoria B.C. by Jan Just Witkam, Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 1 (2010), pp 101-142.

NOTE: Access to the original manuscript is restricted due to extreme fragility of item. Slides and are available for viewing.

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