Sections of a Qur’an copied for Baghdadshah Khatun

Manuscript; Sections of a Qur’an copied for Baghdadshah Khatun; Arabic in black muhaqqaq script; 40 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 2 verso, 3 recto), 2 medallions (fols. 2 recto, 40 verso); inscriptions on the flyleaf (folio 1 recto), endleaf (folio 40 verso); seals (folio 2 recto); standard page: one column, five lines of text, marginal medallions.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in sixteenth-century leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped medallion and corner pieces on the exterior covers; the envelope flap has a surface and border identical to that on the upper and lower covers, and doublures are decorated with leather filigree over a blue-colored paper ground.

Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Ascribed to Sultan-Ali Qa'ini
Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, Attributed to 1511-12 (917 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 36.5 x 24.8 cm (14 3/8 x 9 3/4 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.27
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), illumination, Iran, Islam, muhaqqaq script, Qur'an
Provenance

?-1932
Indjoudjian Frères, method of acquisition unknown [1]

1932
Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art proche-orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" December 19, 1932, lot 130 [2]

?-1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [3]

1942-1947
Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [4]

1947-1986
Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [5]

From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [6]

Notes:

[1] See note 2. Indjoudjian Frères was an antiquities dealership based in Paris and New York, owned by the Armenian-born brothers Agop (1871-1951) and Meguerditch (1884-1927).

[2] See Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art Proche-Orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" [auction catalogue] (Paris: December 19, 1932), lot 130. The work is described as « CORAN ARABE du XVe siècle. Très belle écriture à rosaces dorées et magnifiques pages d'ouverture à décor polychrome. " See also auction sticker affixed to interior of manuscript.

[3] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever (1854-1942) amassed a large and impressive collection of works of art during his lifetime. His holdings in Japanese prints and Islamic arts of the books, especially from Iran and India, were among the most important assembled in the early twentieth century.

[4] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the work. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.

[5] Upon the death of Jeanne Louise Monthiers, as stipulated in the will of Henri Vever, the family's assets were divided evenly between his two grandchildren. His only grandson, Francois Mautin inherited the collection known as "The Henri Vever Collection of Oriental Art and Manuscripts Including Persian and Indian Art and Manuscripts." This work is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 4.

[6] The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file.

Research completed May 4, 2022.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Indjoudjian Freres
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Jeanne Louise Monthiers 1861-1947
Agop Indjoudjian 1871-1951
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Manuscript; Sections of a Qur'an copied for Baghdadshah Khatun; Arabic in black muhaqqaq script; 40 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 2 verso, 3 recto), 2 medallions (fols. 2 recto, 40 verso); inscriptions on the flyleaf (folio 1 recto), endleaf (folio 40 verso); seals (folio 2 recto); standard page: one column, five lines of text, marginal medallions.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in sixteenth-century leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped medallion and corner pieces on the exterior covers; the envelope flap has a surface and border identical to that on the upper and lower covers, and doublures are decorated with leather filigree over a blue-colored paper ground.

Inscription(s)

Fol. 1 recto (flyleaf): Men al-mujaradat Sultan- Ali Qa'ini Baghdad seneh saba' 'shr va tas'imaye.
"From the calligraphy of Sultan-Ali Qa'ini in Baghdad in the year[A.H.] 917 [A.D. 1511-12]."

In the upper right margins (folio 40 verso): [?] al-Hajj Ahmad Bostanchibashi asbagh seneh 1213.
"Was seen by al-Hajj Ahmad, the former bostancibasi [head of garden brigade] in the year [A.H.] 1213 [A.D. 1798-99]."
In the medallion (folio 40 verso): [?] lemullah al-'zimeh al-malekeh al-'adeleh al-mukarameh malake al-mulk [?] Baghdad Shah Khatun [?].
The great, just, noble lady, queen of queens, Baghdadshah Khatun, profited from reading this book.

(exterior of binding, front) white, square sticker with blue boarder and "26" written in black ink
(exterior of binding, exterior of envelope flap) white, square sticker with "17" typed in black ink
(interior, first folio inside cover) written in pencil and circled, "no. 26"
(interior, first folio inside cover) written upside down in pencil, "17"
(interior, second folio page) ecru, octagonal sticker with brown boarder, brown lines for writing inside frame and "No." printed in upper left, "1096" written in blue ink, strike through with pencil lines; first line, "Li. Rps"; second line, "Dec. 32"; third line, no. 130"
(interior, second folio) written in pencil, "1er Vente 9500" and "2n Vente isxy"
(interior last folio) written in blue ink, "No. 30" strike through with pencil
(interior last folio) written in pencil, "No 17"
(interior last folio) written in pencil "Vaspix"
(interior last folio" written in pencil "Collection Henri Vever"

Published References
  • Collection de Indjoudjian: Arts du Proche-Orient des grandes epoques. Paris. cat. 130.
  • 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. 5, pp. 17-18.
  • Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600-1600. Exh. cat. Knoxville, Tennessee. pp. 20-23.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. p. 50, fig. 20.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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