Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); recto: A hunt in the mountains; verso: text

Detached frontispiece from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskh script; recto: right-hand half of a double-page, a hunt in the mountains, remounted heading from a Kitab-i lughat al-Fars; verso: text from the Shahnama, 6 columns, 30 lines. Patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa’l-Din.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border; the verso is set in red and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayni (known as) Mawsili
Patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din
Historical period(s)
Inju dynasty, Mongol period, February 1341 (Ramadan 741 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 35.6 x 29.3 cm (14 x 11 9/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Shiraz
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.113
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
frontispiece, Henri Vever collection, hunting, Inju dynasty (1335 - 1357), Iran, Mongol period (1220 - 1380), Shahnama
Provenance

Charles Vignier (1863-1934), Paris, France. [1]

To 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France. [2]

From 1942 to 1986
Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France. [3]

From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France. [4]

Notes:

[1] See Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 7: Chart of Recent Provenance" in An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, Glenn D. Lowry et al (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 402.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See the Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection of January 9, 1986, Collections Management Office.

[4] See note 3.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Henri Vever 1854-1942
Charles Vignier 1863-1934
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Detached frontispiece from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskh script; recto: right-hand half of a double-page, a hunt in the mountains, remounted heading from a Kitab-i lughat al-Fars; verso: text from the Shahnama, 6 columns, 30 lines. Patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din.
Border: The recto is set in an illuminated border; the verso is set in red and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

.

Published References
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 74, p. 69.
  • Henry Corbin, Paul Pelliot, Eustache de Lorey. Les Arts de l'Iran, l'ancienne Perse, et Bagdad. Paris. cat. 21.4, p. 141.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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