Sultan Muhammad ibn Darvish al-Mufti al-Balkhi (the magistrate of Balkh), Majma' al-gharayib, Collections of Curiosities, dedicated to the Shaybanid ruler Pir Muhammad Khan (reg. 1555-60), illustrated with 90 paintings Kashmir, late 18th/early 19th Century


Persian manuscript on gold-sprinkled paper, 175 leaves, 12 lines to the page written in nasta'liq script in black ink with significant words in red or underlined in red, gold-sprinkled text area, inner margins ruled in gold, red and blue, catchwords, one illuminated double-page frontispiece in colours and gold in the Kashmiri style, occasional marginal notes, 90 miniatures, mostly quarter-page or half-page, one full-page, floral lacquer binding in Kashmiri style, doublures with a naturalistic spray of flowers, calf spine embossed with title Mysterious Strangers, gilt-embossed modern leather slipcase 325 x 190 mm.
|Provenance:Private US collection, 1960-present.The text is on geography, history and strange events and creatures, and was composed and dedicated to Pir Muhammad Khan (reg. 1555-60 or 66), son of Jani Bayg of the Shaybani Uzbeks (referred to in the preface as 'King of Balkh', but who ruled at Samarqand). It was influenced by other texts such as 'Aja'ib al-Buldan. Although the text is known, there are very few recorded copies of it. Rypka mentions the book and translates the title as 'Collections of Curiosities', 'which has been preserved in two redactions' (see J. Rypka, History of Iranian Literature, reprint 1968, p. 461).Other copies of the text are recorded: one in the Bodleian Library Oxford (MS. Ouseley 47 (https://www.fihrist.org.uk/catalog/manuscript_4742), dated 12 Rajab 1085/12th October 1674; and an incomplete copy of the text in the Parliament Library in Tehran, attributed to the 19th Century. An article in Persian by A. Habibi discusses the content of the text and mentions an undated copy in Tashkand Library. (see http://www.ensani.ir/storage/Files/20120509081606-4048-779.pdf).