VIII. Critical Observations on the Mistakes of Philologers, by Ali ibn Hamza al-Basri: Part V : Observations on the Mistakes in the Book called Ikhtiyar Fasih al-Kalam, composed by Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya Tha‘lab.

1904 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-118
Author(s):  
Richard Bell
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Similar Copy

Last year Professor Sachau, of Berlin, pointed out to me among the MSS. in the British Museum an important work of Arabic philology. The work bears the title “ Critical Observations on the Mistakes of Philologers by Abu’l-Qāsim ‘Ali ibn Ḥamza al-Baṣri ” (cf. Rieu, Supplement to Catalogue of Arabic MSS., No. 841). The British Museum MS. is a modern copy of an ancient codex in the Khedivial Library in Cairo, and is on the whole legible and accurate, though at points it is not quite reliable. Another similar copy exists at Strassburg (cf. Nöldeke, Z.D.M.G., 1886), and the Library of Count Landberg contains a third. The work includes ‘observations’ on the following eight ancient philological works:—(1) The Nawādir of Abu Ziyād al-Kilābi al-’A‘rābi; (2) the Nawādir of Abu ‘Amr ash-Shaibāni ; (3) the Kitāb an-Nabāt of Aḥmad ibn Da’ūd ad-Dīnawari; (4) the Kāmil of al-Mubarrad; (5) the Faṣīḥ of Tha‘lab ; (6) the Gharīb al-Muṣannaf of Abu Obaid Qāsim ibn Sallām; (7) the Iṣlāḥ al-Manṭiq of Ibn as-Sikkīt; (8) the Makṣur wa’1-Mamdūd of Ibn Wallād. The ‘ observations,’ though sometimes pedantic, are usually valuable from a lexicographical point of view. Abu’l-Qāsim gives many corrections of the statements of the authors on whose books he comments, and supports his contentions by quotations from the poets, which are in many instances not to be found in the lexicons or in similar works.

A Hand-axe from beneath the Norwich Crag

1930 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-225
Author(s):  
J. Reid Moir
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Address ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Accurate Description ◽  
Considerable Size

In his important Presidential Address, dealing, principally, with the diggings he carried out beneath the Norwich Crag, Mr. J. E. Sainty drew attention to a remarkable flint implement (Fig. 2 of the above-mentioned paper) which was found by Mr. T. F. Newnam in the well-known pit at Whitlingham, near Norwich. After haying shewn that the specimen was derived from the pre-Crag Stone Bed, Mr. Sainty gave a careful and accurate description of this implement, and concluded by stating, “It is altogether a very convincing and highly important specimen from the point of view of dating the industry which it represents.”There are, I imagine, few archæologists who, having examined this implement, would disagree with Mr. Sainty's opinion. The specimen is, in fact, of such great significance that it was considered desirable to have it illustrated in four views, and this has now been successfully accomplished by Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, of the British Museum. Mr. Sainty has been so good as to ask me to undertake the task of further describing, and of commenting upon, this implement, and I am indebted to the Curator of the Castle Museum, Norwich, where the flint is now preserved, for loaning it to me for examination. If attention is now directed to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, it will be at once realised that the specimen found by Mr. Newnam is a coarsely-flaked and massive (it weighs 2¼ lbs.) hand-axe. A further examination will show that the flaking which has shaped the implement has been produced by heavy, though skilful blows delivered by a hammerstone of considerable size and weight. It is clear, also, that the specimen was formed by means of what is known as ‘free’ flaking, in which the side from which the flakes are to be removed is not supported by pressure of the hand, or some other object. The result of the application of the above described technique is the removal of flakes inclined to be thick, and showing prominent bulbs of percussion, and of greater breadth than length.

Two ‘Virtues’ of Tiberius: A Numismatic Contribution to the History of his Reign

1939 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. V. Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Roman Emperor ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation

Mr. M. P. Charlesworth's Raleigh Lecture, ‘The Virtues of a Roman Emperor: Propaganda and the Creation of Belief,’ serves admirably to illuminate a new aspect of the history of the Roman Empire, in which the debt of pure history to numismatics (and notably to the work of Mr. Mattingly in the British Museum Catalogues) will be plain. From the numismatic point of view there is, indeed, one curious omission in Mr. Charlesworth's argument; and attempts to make good the omission have opened up a series of speculations which are here discussed.

On a New Species of Eurhinosaurus in the British Museum

1930 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 275-277
Author(s):  
W. E. Swinton
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Adequate Description ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Great Pleasure ◽  
A New Species

In 1928 the Trustees of the British Museum purchased for the Geological Department the skeleton of a large Ichthyosaur then being prepared in the workshop of Dr. B. Hauff in Holzmaden. During its preparation the skeleton was, with the permission of the Department, studied by Professor F. von Huene, of Tübingen, who subsequently published and adequate description and figure of it, and who reached the conclusion that it was probably a new species. Since I consider that the specimen is undoubtedly different from the others so far described as Eurhinosaurus longirostris I propose here to review briefly its main characteristics under a new specific name. As von Huene has done the most important work on the genus it is with great pleasure that I name this new species in his honour.

The Rebellion of the Earls, 1569

1906 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 171-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Reid
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Modern History ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Point ◽  
Local Sources ◽  
Public Record ◽  
Parish Registers

A popular movement like the Rebellion of the Earls can always be treated from two distinct standpoints, the national and the local. Hitherto, the Rebellion has always been treated from the national standpoint, with the result that, so far as I am aware, there is no book dealing with the Rebellion alone. All accounts of it must be sought in general histories such as those named below. I would specially mention the chapter in the ‘Cambridge Modern History’ in which Mr. Law has anticipated all the conclusions which I have been able to draw from my own examination of the sources. The local point of view, on the other hand, has been almost wholly ignored, and affords more opportunity for investigation; to it, therefore, I have confined myself. I cannot pretend that the essay is exhaustive, as circumstances have prevented me from investigating the local sources, such as Corporation and Town Records, Parish Registers and the like. Nevertheless, this contribution may not be wholly without value, since it is based on a careful study of the material preserved at the Public Record Office and in the British Museum.

scholarly journals Art. VIII.—Four Cuneiform Texts

1892 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-368
Author(s):  
S. Arthur Strong
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View

Of Aššurbêlkala, son and successor of the first Tiglath pileser, we know little. The so-called synchronous history devotes a few lines to his reign, from which, however, we learn nothing more than that in his time the peoples of Assyria and Babylon were united in the bonds of friendship aud alliance, and that he took to wife a Babylonian lady, daughter of the upstart Rammanâpluiddinna, King of Babylon (W. A. I., ii. 65, 25). Two only of Aššurbêlkala's inscriptions seem to have come down to us. Of these the more important runs in seven partly defaced lines across the back of a nude female torso carved in stone a little under life-size. This monument—of the highest interest from an archaeological point of view—was found at Kouyunjik, and is now preserved (No. 849) in the British Museum.

scholarly journals Art. VII.—The Early Years of Shāh Isma'īl, Founder of the Ṣafavī Dynasty

1896 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Denison Ross
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
The Other ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Short Account ◽  
Original Source ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
History Of ◽  
Long Life ◽  
The Ganges

The most exhaustive, if not the best known, source for the history of Shāh Isma'īl the Ṣafavī, is undoubtedly the Ḥabib-us-Siyar of Khwāndamīr. Though this large and important work has been lithographed, both in Ṭihrān and in Bombay, it is but too little known in Europe, where it has generally been regarded as a mere epitome of the Rauzat-uṣ-Ṣafā; whereas, besides being an original source for much valuable biographical and geographical matter, it contains detailed accounts of many little-known dynasties. Khwāndamīr's work is thus in many respects more interesting than the ponderous universal history of his grandfather. Now, there is a work, of which the British Museum possesses one copy, and the Cambridge University Library a second, which is devoted entirely to the biography of Shāh Isma'īl. Neither MS. bears a title nor gives any author's name, and in no part of the work have I been able to find a clue to the author's identity. MS. L bears the title , which is taken from the Epilogue, and in the very last line after we read which, according to Dr. Rieu, is most probably meant for the transcriber and not the author. The work ends with a short account of the accession of Isma'īl's son Ṭahmāsp, and with prayers for the prosperity and long life of the young prince. This would lead one to fix the completion of the history soon after the accession of Ṭahmāsp Mīrzā in a.h. 930. On the other hand, on fol. 277a of MS. L, we are told, in a momentary digression from the main narrative, that Moḥammad Zamān Mīrzā was drowned in the Ganges in the year 947, on the occasion of Humāyūn's retreat from Bengal.

Notes on the Silver Punch-marked Coins in the British Museum

1937 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-624
Author(s):  
E. H. C. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Ancient India ◽  
Standard Source

The Catalogue of the Coins of Ancient India in the British Museum, by Mr. J. Allan, published last year, has made the silver punch-marked coins available to all, and the clear system of classification which Mr. Allan has followed and his scholarly and complete Introduction give all the information about these coins that is at present available, while the large number of the coins which are illustrated in the plates enable the conclusions arrived at in the Introduction to be confirmed or questioned. General thanks are due to Mr. Allan for this important work. As this Catalogue will be the standard source of reference for the consideration and classification of these coins, it is important to note any points that arise from its consideration.

On some Black-figured Vases recently acquired by the British Museum

1898 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 281-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Good Condition ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Cylindrical Section ◽  
Black Varnish ◽  
Interesting Class ◽  
Clay Ground

Since the publication of the official catalogue (Volume II.) in 1893 the British Museum has been enriched by several black-figured vases of considerable interest and importance, which I propose to describe and discuss in this paper. Excluding the Odysseus and Kirke vase which I published in vol. xiii of this Journal, the total number amounts to eight, one of which bears an artist's signature, while another is a unique example of a very interesting class. Three others again are interesting from a typological point of view. I will take the vases in a roughly chronological order.Corinthian oinochoe, 8 in. high, from Aegina (Fig. 1). It has a trefoil mouth and squat neck round which is a moulded ring. The handle does not rise above the mouth of the vase, and is quite plain, with cylindrical section. The vase is in good condition, except that the foot is somewhat chipped, and the black varnish is dull and frayed on the lip. It has been imperfectly fired, and the varnish has turned to red in some places. The clay ground is of a buff colour, and the clay itself appears to be rather gritty in texture.

Rare and doubtful words in the poetry of Abū-l-‘Alā’

1952 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-250
Author(s):  
Abdulla El Tayib
Keyword(s):  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View

In the course of a recent study (a thesis on Abū-l-‘Alā’ as a poet), I have come upon certain words in Luzūm mā la- Yalzam which, to the best of my knowledge, do not occur in Ibn Durayd's Jamharah, Al-Asās, al-Ṣiḥāḥ, al-Qāmūs, al-Mukhaṣṣaṣ, Täj al-'Arūs, Lisān al-'Arab, al-Jāsūs ‘ala-l-Qāmūs, Lane's Lexicon, or al-Munjid. It might be interesting, from the point of view of Arabic philology, to examine some of these rare words here, if only because they occur in the work of such a distinguished authority as Abū-l-‘Alā’. I have consulted the texts in which these words occur in the Cairo edition of the Luzūm, the Bombay edition, and the British Museum MS., Or. 3160.

The Historical Development of Idealism and Realism

1877 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 117-143
Author(s):  
Gustavus George Zerffi
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Historical Document ◽  
Domestic Relations ◽  
Learned Societies

“Generalizations drawn from particulars are the jewels of knowledge, comprehending great store in a little room,” says the immortal Locke. The more I see of our learned societies, the more I study the curricula of our different schools and educational establishments, the more thoroughly am I convinced that we persistently neglect the study of general history from a higher and a philosophical point of view; in fact, we appear scarcely to have attained the faculty to distinguish between geography, archology, genealogy, biography, ethnology, chronicles, heraldry, statistical reports, numismatics, and extracts from registers. We call everything that has happened history, and consider an old civic record, as devoid of influence on the destinies of humanity as the name, age, occupation, and domestic relations of one of the mummies under a glass case in our British Museum, an historical document of value. We are apt to confuse the task of the antiquary or of a contributor to Notes and Queries with that of the historian.

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