Detached album folio; Horse and groom; reverse: text

Detached album folio; Horse and groom; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script; attributed to Haydar Ali; reverse: illuminated panel of calligraphy.
The painting is set in gold and black rulings mounted on a tan-colored paper. The text is mounted on a cream-colored paper.

Maker(s)
Artist: Attributed to Haydar Ali
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, early 16th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 11.3 x 11 cm (4 7/16 x 4 5/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Tabriz
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1937.20
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Album, Painting
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
horse, illumination, Iran, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance

?-to at least 1929
Armenag Bey Sakisian, method of acquisition unknown [1]

About 1929-1937
Ownership information unknown

?-to at least 1937
H. Kevorkian, New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]

From 1937
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from H. Kevorkian, New York [3]

Notes:

[1] See Arménag Bey Sakisian, “La Miniature Persane du XIIe au XVIIe siècle: ouvrage accompagné de la reproduction de 193 miniatures dont deux en couleurs” [book] (Paris et Bruxelles: Les Editions G. Van Ouest, 1929), fig. 156 and p. 117. The miniature is cited as being in the collection of the author. Armenag Bey Sakisian was a collector and art historian, and an archaeologist who lived in Paris but worked extensively in Syria and the surrounding region.

[2] Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) was a dealer and collector of Islamic Art with eponymous galleries in New York and Paris. See note 3 for purchase invoice details.

[3] The Freer Gallery of Art paid H. Kevorkian in installments, the first on April 23, 1937, and the last on June 2, 1937, marked approved on June 1, 1937. See object file for copy of invoice.

Research updated December 8, 2022

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Armenag Sakisian
Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Description

Detached album folio; Horse and groom; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; attributed to Haydar Ali; reverse: illuminated panel of calligraphy.
The painting is set in gold and black rulings mounted on a tan-colored paper. The text is mounted on a cream-colored paper.

Inscription(s)

The work of Ustad (Master) Haydar Ali

Label

According to the illuminated cartouche, Horse and Groom was painted by Haydar Ali, one of the leading early-sixteenth-century painters and nephew of the legendary Persian painter, Bihzad. Haydar Ali may have begun his artistic training with his uncle in Herat before moving west to Tabriz. Characterized by fine draftsmanship, a vibrant palette, and intricate surface designs, this composition embodies the elegance and refinement of early-sixteenth-century Persian paintings.

Published References
  • Persia's Marvelous Miniatures. vol. 5, no. 4 Washington, November - December 1960. p. 17.
  • Schuyler Cammann. Ancient Symbols in Modern Afghanistan. vol. 2 Washington and Ann Arbor, 1957. p. 27, pl. 4, fig. 11.
  • Patricia Lee Harrigan. The Horse in Safavid Art. vol. 1, no. 5 Albuquerque, New Mexico, Aug 26, 2022. p. 37.
  • Carl Diem. Asiatische reiterspiele: ein beitrag zur kulturgeschichte der völker. Berlin. p. 84.
  • Armenag Sakisian. La Miniature Persane du XIIe au XVIIe siecle: Ouvrage accompagne de la reproduction de 193 miniatures dont deux en couleurs. Paris and Brussels. p. 117, fig. 156.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. p. 129, no. 129.
  • Islamic Art and Archaeology: Collected Papers. Berlin. pp. 619.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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