Letter: BL OR 5566B.16

Description

On recto, the bottom of a letter (official letter? formulary?) in Arabic script. The writer thanks the addressee in the concluding lines quoting two verses of poetry that are commonly quoted to express gratitude - ولو أنني أوتيت كل بلاغة*وأفنيت بحر النطق في النظم والنثر لما كنت بعد القول إلا مقصرا*ومعترفا بالعجز عن واجب الشكر Towards the end of the document, there seems to be an ʿalāma in a thick pen which reads as جدد عهد, probably signifying the renewal of the tenure of someone, and the verses of poetry in gratitude are in response? On verso, there are two lines of love poetry by the 11th-century Andalūsī poet ʿAlī al-Ḥuṣarī al-Qayrawānī (d. 1095) headed by a basmala.