PERSIAN MANUSCRIPT CATALOGUES IN CAMBRIDGE, A DOOR INTO DIGITAL HUMANITIES
The talk explores the use of computational methods for manuscript descriptions. It begins with an overview of Cambridge’s Persian manuscript collection in the context of UK collections. The speaker discusses how enhancing access to these collections motivated the use of computational techniques on descriptive data. A case study using data from the FIHRIST Union Catalogue of Islamicate Manuscripts is presented. The talk concludes by emphasising the significance of open access, standards, and data provenance in such research.
Yasmin Faghihi
Yasmin Faghihi is Head of the Near and Middle Eastern Department at Cambridge University Library. She is the editor of FIHRIST, the online union catalogue for manuscripts from the Islamicate world and chairs the Board of Directors. She has been leading on using and promoting standardised practices in text encoding for manuscript description and teaching to foster awareness about compatible approaches to data creation and use. Her work with the Middle Eastern and African manuscript collections has evolved around Islamic codicology including paper-making and distribution and the history of collections and collecting. Her Digital Humanities interests focus on the exchange of knowledge both as a historical and contemporary phenomenon, and how DH methodologies can impact the recognition of cultural diversity and offer new approaches to analysing cross-disciplinary frameworks.
When
13 March 2025, 5 – 7 pm
Where
Online Lecture on Zoom
Event Type
Online
Zoom Registration Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/O3RsaW1zS62OcHoKr_VJ6g
STUDIES ON PERSIAN PAPER IN MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS OF THE MALEK NATIONAL LIBRARY
This lecture, which will be delivered in Persian, focuses on the study of Persian paper used in the manuscript collections of the Malek National Library.
The talk will be presented by Noshad Rokni, head of the Library Department at the Malek National Library and Museum since 2024.
Noshad Rokni
Noshad Rokni is a distinguished expert in manuscript preservation, codicology, and Persian paper studies. Currently serving as the Head of the Library Department at the Malek National Library and Museum since 2024, he previously led the Cultural Information and Technical Preservation Department at the same institution for over a decade. Holding a Master’s degree in Restoration and Iranian Studies with a specialisation in Codicology, Rokni has dedicated his career to the study and preservation of historical manuscripts. As an instructor, he has contributed to multiple courses on codicology, paper studies, museology, and manuscript preservation. He has written over twenty publications on manuscripts and restoration.
When
20 February 2025, 5 – 7 pm
Where
Online Lecture on Zoom
Event Type
Online
Language
Persian
Zoom Registration Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TDEkx2AeTKqDGWItcVjyAQ
COBALT AND GOLD: RE-EXAMINING LAJVARDINA WARES AND LINKS TO PERSIAN MANUSCRIPT PAINTING
This lecture draws on some of the key themes explored in my recently completed monograph on lajvardina wares. There are significantly more tiles than vessels, and they have been subject to far less restoration an overpainting in most cases and will be the main focus. Striking as the tiles are, they are almost all decontextualised. By looking at some of the motifs seen not only on other tiles, but also on lajvardina vessels and other types of glazed ceramics, as well as other media, it can be possible to get a clearer idea of how lajvardina wares fit into the wider Ilkhanid aesthetic. In addition, a series of manuscript paintings will be examined in order to understand how the tiles may have appeared in their original architectural context, and to investigate if the ceramics and manuscripts can be used to better understand both media.
Dr Richard Piran McClary
Dr Richard Piran McClary is a Senior Lecturer in Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of York. He received his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 2015. He has lectured extensively on a range of subjects related to medieval Islamic art and architecture, and has conducted fieldwork in India, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia and across the Middle East. He has published three monographs with EUP; Rum Seljuq Architecture 1170-1220. The Patronage of Sultans (2017) and Medieval Monuments of Central Asia. Qarakhanid Architecture of the 11th and 12th Centuries (2020), and Mina’i Ware: A Reassessment and Comprehensive Study of Iranian Polychrome Overglaze Wares through Sherds (2024). He has published articles in numerous journals, including: Muqarnas, Iran, and the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. He has served as a trustee and the Research Director for the British Institute of Persian Studies, and is managing editor of the Journal of Islamic Art and Architecture.
When
23 January 2025, 5 – 7 pm
Where
SWLT, Paul Webley Building, SOAS University of London
Event Type
In-person and Online
Zoom Registration Link:
https://us05web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LXeBs9tYR-iq9dfNqwuXGg
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