Folio from a dispersed copy of Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami (d. 1209); recto: illuminated table of contents; verso: A prince seated in a landscape with attendants, right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; text: Persian and Turkish in black nasta’liq script; recto: table of contents with titles of: Khusraw va Shirin, Makhzan al-asrar, Haft paykar, Iskandarnama, Layla va Majnun; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, facing folio (S1986.191.2), A prince seated in a landscape with attendants; one of a group of two folios.
Border: recto: The table of contents is set in red, gold and green rulings on cream-colored paper; verso: the painting is set in red and gold inner frame and an illuminated outer frame.

Historical period(s)
Safavid period, ca.1600
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 29.7 x 19.4 cm (11 11/16 x 7 5/8 in)
Geography
Iran, Isfahan
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.191.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
attendant, Henri Vever collection, illumination, Iran, Khamsa, landscape, prince, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance

To at least 1922
Moussa, Tehran, Iran. [1]

1922
Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Objets d'art Anciens de la Perse, May 5-6, 1922, no. 130. [2]

To 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France. [3]

From 1942 to 1986
Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France. [4]

From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France. [5]

Notes:

[1] The object was in the collection of Moussa (M.J.M) until 1922 when it was published in the auction catalogue, Objets d'art anciens de la Perse, May 5-6, 1922. 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. 405.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

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

[5] See note 4.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hotel Drouot
Moussa
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; text: Persian and Turkish in black nasta'liq script; recto: table of contents with titles of: Khusraw va Shirin, Makhzan al-asrar, Haft paykar, Iskandarnama, Layla va Majnun; verso: right-hand half of a double-page frontispiece, facing folio (S1986.191.2), A prince seated in a landscape with attendants; one of a group of two folios.
Border: recto: The table of contents is set in red, gold and green rulings on cream-colored paper; verso: the painting is set in red and gold inner frame and an illuminated outer frame.

Inscription(s)

Recto: above the page: "with the grace of God the merciful, [?] the poor Nusrat."

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. 267, pp. 233-234.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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