Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- Mar 1931 (Creation)
- [1800 - 1899] (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 leatherbound volume 21.5 x 16cm lithograph
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was a cousin, son-in-law and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled as the fourth Rashidun caliph from 656 until his assassination in 661. He is considered one of the central figures in Shia Islam, the first Shia Imam and, in Sunni Islam, as the fourth of the "rightly guided" (rāshidūn) caliphs.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Lionel David Barnett was an English orientalist. He was educated at University College, Liverpool, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took a first class degree in classics. In 1899, he joined the British Museum as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts. In 1908 he became Keeper, remaining in the post until his retirement in 1936. He was also Professor of Sanskrit at University College, London, from 1906 to 1917; founding Lecturer in Sanskrit at the School of Oriental Studies (1917–1948); Lecturer in Ancient Indian History and Epigraphy (1922–1948); and Librarian of the School (1940–1947). In 1948, at the age of 77, he rejoined the British Museum, which was desperately short of staff, as an Assistant Keeper, remaining there until his death in 1960.
Repository
Archival history
The custodial history is unknown.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
It's not known how this volume became part of the Society's collections.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
A series of discourses on Muslim doctrine and ethics, said at its beginning to be the Kalām of Murtada (Murtaza) Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib which has been translated from a Persian rendering of the original Arabic into a dialect of "Western Hindustani" in a variety of the Khojki Sindh script. This information is obtained from a typed note which has been pasted into the volume and signed by Lionel David Barnett, dated March 1931.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
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Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.
Language of material
- English
- Hindi
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
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Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Talib Ali ibn Abi kalif (Subject)
- Barnett Lionel David 1871-1960 (Subject)
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Description control area
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Institution identifier
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Dates of creation revision deletion
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Archivist's note
This volume was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.