<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>An incomplete and unfinished manuscript of the Shahnama, missing both beginning and end, with spaces left blank throughout that were not painted.</p><p>The manuscript, having been in the collection of E.G.Browne before 1936, came to the Main Library of the University of Cambridge from his heirs, which is witnessed by the inscription on f.1v: ex testamento EG Browne... filii P. and M. Browne MDCCCC.XXX.VI. Near by the inscription there is the seal of the Cambridge University library dated 20 July 1936.</p><p>The text starts with the prose introduction of Abu Mansur redaction with the following incipit, which was obviously restored by another hand (f.1v): Sipas-u afarin-i khuday-ra kih in jahan...</p><p>The original part starts with (f.2r): ... avard va Kalila va Dimna dar zaban-i mardum uftad va nam-i u..., which with very insignificant variations is the continuation of the same Preface.</p><p>The copy probably was never finished, containing 393 ff. (according to Browne it must have been about 550 ff.), which is 5/8ths of the poem, ending with the death of Rustam with the following explicit (f. 393v): Ba du dast bigirift... (E.G. Browne’s note: Turner Macan vol.III, p.1241).</p><p>The poem is heavily interpolated with large elements like Garshaspnama and Nariman-nama.</p><p>The manuscript is executed in Indian ink without headings by a neat professional hand in nasta‘liq script. Folios 1r-58v and 320r-329v are framed by gold, red and black lines.</p><p>Paper is Oriental, of good quality, rather thick, very glossy, creamy.</p><p>Binding is original Oriental, dark red leather mounted on cardboards with medallions of floral ornament on both covers with flap, restored in Europe, consolidated along the edge with green cloth.</p><p>The manuscript does not contain any paintings, or preliminary drawings. However, there are 43 blank spaces left for the pictures. Their subjects according to the text were presumably chosen for their special interest. Among them there are several extremely rare, and even unique scenes: Birth of Farud (f.204r), Giv learns about the coming of Nastihan (f.219v), Rustam tells Kay Kavus about India (f.227r), Tus kills Arzhang (f.243r).</p><p>Both additional cycles of Garshaspnama (illustrations 1-10) and Nariman-nama (illustrations 12-14) represent new material for investigation of the illustrated interpolations. The spaces left for the miniatures are usually quite big (200 mm length out of 250 mm, f.19r), which is about 3-4 times bigger than the space occupied by the text. The intervals between the supposed miniatures are quite regular, average 10-14 folios, however, they can occur even on the next folio, like Garshasp demonstrates his talents before Zahhak (f.19r) and Zahhak frightens Garshasp with sorcery (f.20r), or being separated by 23 folios, like Rustam pulls the Khaqan of Chin from his elephant by lasso (f.271v) and Bizhan kills Human (f.294r).</p></p>
