Marginalia and Ownership Notes

Abstract The study of Middle Eastern manuscripts requires an understanding of provenance, materials, and techniques, as well as the history and philosophies of the Middle East. The removal of many manuscripts from their context, along with transcription errors and language differences, creates barriers to understanding the origins and significance of traded manuscripts. This paper examines the methods for contextualising and attributing provenance to a copy of Silsilat al-Zahab by Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414–1492) from The University of Melbourne Library collection. While the library catalogue estimates the manuscript’s publication date between 1800 and 1899, an analysis of the colophon, marginalia, and ownership notes suggests a possible publication date of 1751, when it was part of the Indian Mughal library during the reign of Aḥmad Shāh Bahādur. This book entered the English book market before moving to its current location. Examining textual marginalia and linking this to provenance and the trade in manuscripts expands knowledge of this volume and provides perspectives for those interested in tracing manuscripts and recording their transmissions.