Folio from a Rawdat al-safa (Garden of felicity) by Mirkhwand (d. 1498); recto: Suleyman enthroned; verso: text, Suleyman provides a one day meal for humans, jinns, animals, wild beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of a Rawdat al-safa fi sirat al-anbiya’ wa-al -muluk wa-al-khulafa (Garden of purity on the lives of the prophets, kings, and caliphs) by Muhammad b. Khwandshah (known as Mirkhwand); text: Persian in black nasta’liq script; recto: illustration and text: Suleyman enthroned, inscriptions on the painting folio; verso: text: Suleyman provides a one day meal for humans, djinn, animals, wild beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects, one column, twenty-five lines; one of a group of twenty folios.
Border: The painting is set in gold, red, and blue rulings on a paper with animal and floral motifs; the text is set in gold, red, and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

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Maker(s)
Artist: Mirak
Calligrapher: Inayatullah al-katib al-Shirazi
Author: Khwandshah (Mirkhwand)
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1571-1572
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 41.2 x 26.8 cm (16 1/4 x 10 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
S1986.233
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, history, Iran, Islam, prophet, Rawzat al-safa, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), Solomon
Provenance

Unidentified sale, no. 243. [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. 406.

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

[3] See note 2.

[4] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Henri Vever 1854-1942
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of a Rawdat al-safa fi sirat al-anbiya' wa-al -muluk wa-al-khulafa (Garden of purity on the lives of the prophets, kings, and caliphs) by Muhammad b. Khwandshah (known as Mirkhwand); text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: illustration and text: Suleyman enthroned, inscriptions on the painting folio; verso: text: Suleyman provides a one day meal for humans, djinn, animals, wild beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects, one column, twenty-five lines; one of a group of twenty folios.
Border: The painting is set in gold, red, and blue rulings on a paper with animal and floral motifs; the text is set in gold, red, and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

Inscription(s)

Recto: on the rock: Ragam-i Mirak
"Drawn by Mirak"

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. 216, p. 192.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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