MUHAMMAD IBN AHMAD IBN ‘AMID AL-DIN 'ALI AL-HUSAYNI AL-NAJAFI AL-NASABAH, KITAB BAHR AL-ANSAB AL-MUSAMMA BI'L-MUSHAJJAR AL-KASHSHAF LI-USUL AL-SADAH AL-ASHRAF, A GENEALOGY OF THE PROPHET, EGYPT, OTTOMAN, DATED 1054 AH/1644 AD |

Arabic manuscript on watermarked paper, 154 pages plus 2 fly-leaves, between 32 and 38 lines to the page, written in black naskh script, important sentences and titles in blue and red, brown leather binding stamped with a central chi cloud motif within an almond-form cartouche

In good condition, minor stains and holes, minor rubbing and tears, some restoration to the paper, the binding restored to the spine, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Genealogies are usually in two formats: mabsut (flattened, and in a prose format) or mushajjar (designed as a tree and with charts). This example in the so called tree-format and it is divided into fifteen chapters, listed on f.2b. The text is written on watermarked paper with three crescent moons (trelune), and the binding bears a central almond-shaped panel decorated with the chi cloud design common in Ottoman Turkey from the sixteenth century onwards (see Deroche 2015, p.300). A copy of the same text, attributed to the sixteenth century, in now in the Yale University Library (inv. no.Landberg MSS 118), whilst a further copy in recorded in Brockelmann to be in the National Library, Cairo (inv. no.V,346; Brockelmann S II p.971).