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THE TAESCHNER COLLECTION (Or. 12.345)

Cod.Or. 12.345 Tercemet babu l-ahfr li ’l-Fütühati l-Mekkïye A . ^ A II L " , 1 ~*w J ^ I 1 J . I L_J L A * A mid 19th-century copy of a translation of the last chapter of al-Futühat al- Makkiya ft asrar al-m&likiya wa l-mulkiya, a work on suft doctrine, by Ibn al- ‘ArabT (d. 638/1240, cf. GAL I, p. 442; S I, p. 792). The autograph copy in 37 volumes written in 633-7 (1235-9) is preserved in Istanbul (cf. A. Ate§ in Ef 2 ). The title of the translation (which is not one given by the translator) is found on the third flyleaf, recto. The author of the original work is mentioned in f. 2b:3-4; its title in f. 2b: 12. The work is preceded by an introduction (lb-3b) by the translator in florid rhymed prose alternated with Persian verses on the subject of the book, the author and his work; the choice of the last [560th] chapter (bob) concerning the ‘counsel of saints and prophets and the advice of ‘ulema and the learned’ (2b: 18-9); the reason why the translator (who does not mention his name, cf. 2b:22-3) decided to produce a Turkish version; and the suggestion by an old court servant (eski emekdar, 3a:20) and intimate, the Harem shaykh Ibrahim Efendi (mentioned in f. 3b: 1), the book to be offered to the Sultan, ‘Ahmed b. Mehmed’ (either Ahmed I or Ahmed III, mentioned in 3a:7). Only one other manuscript copy of the work, preserved in the Cairo National Library, seems to be documented, but there also exists a printed version, probably - the title (cf. below) is identical with the cited line from the introduction, f. 2b: 18-9 - of the same text. A few marginal additions. Bound in black leather with flap illuminated with diagonal gold bars and dots framed in two gold bands embossed with vegetal patterns; precious cream glazed paper; (l)+2+124+2+(l) folios; 257x132 mm and 187x79 mm; 29 lines; catchwords; calligraphic ta'lïk', rubrics and lines in red, gold dots in ff. lb-2a, gold borders within black and red lines; margins illuminated in gold flower and leaf patters (lb-2a); an exquisite headpiece with floral motifs in red, blue, gold, green and yellow in f. la (see plate); triangular illuminations in gold, blue and red in a comparable style on f. 124a (see plate); completed by öalïl Niyazi, a student of ‘ Arabzade Mehmed Sa'dullah, during the final days of Zf l-hicce 1272 (22-31 August 1856); the inscription ‘Franz Taeschner Ms. Nr. 18’ by the owner himself occurs on the third flyleaf, recto; annotations on a separate piece of paper on the contents and outward aspects of the manuscript by Taeschner is found between the flyleaves; it also contains a statement that the MS was bought in September 1912