Samples of Persian and Arabic calligraphy, written for Lord John Elphinstone. The calligrapher has used a text praising the dedicatee and repeats it using 40 different calligraphic styles, some of which are rare. Headings and rulings are in red, with main text in black, with some gold interlinear illuminating and frame detail.

The caligraphic styles are numbered in red ink. Each folio bears writing on one side only (some on the recto and some on the verso).

The work is a short treatise intended for the instruction of princes and rulers, and consists of forty chapters, each containing four different pieces of advice. The author, whose name in this instance is not mentioned, was 'Abd-allāh Muḥammad al-Anṣarī of Herat (d. 481 A.H., 1088 C.E.). From the preface it would appear that the work is a compilation of the wise sayings of old philosophers and statesmen.