Sufi riding a leopard from a Bustan (Orchard) by Sa’di (1291)

Manuscript; Bustan (Orchard) by Sa’di; Persian in black and gold nasta’liq script; 46 folios with 1 sarlawh (folio 1 verso), 1 dated colophon (folio 46 recto), 2 paintings (fols.4, and 14 recto), and illuminated headings; inscriptions: fols. 14, 17, 46, 53 recto; standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in Turkish red leather over paper pasteboards with gold tooling on the exterior covers and doublures of marbled paper. The envelop flap has a border of multiple fillets with a scalloped medallion at the tip of the flap.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Ahmad al-Husayni al-Mashhadi
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1525 (931 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 26.9 x 17.6 cm (10 9/16 x 6 15/16 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
S1986.36
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Bustan, Henri Vever collection, Iran, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance

To 1912
Arsène Aftandil. [1]

From 1912 to 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Arsène Aftandil on June 22, 1912. [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. 399. See also Glen D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 2: Ledger of Acquisitions, 1894 and 1907-17" in A Jeweler’s Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 232.

[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)

Arsène Aftandil
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Manuscript; Bustan (Orchard) by Sa'di; Persian in black and gold nasta'liq script; 46 folios with 1 sarlawh (folio 1 verso), 1 dated colophon (folio 46 recto), 2 paintings (fols.4, and 14 recto), and illuminated headings; inscriptions: fols. 14, 17, 46, 53 recto; standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in Turkish red leather over paper pasteboards with gold tooling on the exterior covers and doublures of marbled paper. The envelop flap has a border of multiple fillets with a scalloped medallion at the tip of the flap.

Inscription(s)

Fols. 14, 17 recto: on doorways: "oh bestower; oh opener of the gates."
Fols. 46, 53 recto: "written by the poor sinful slave Ali al-Husayni, may God forgive his sins. In the early part of the auspicious month of Ramadan in the year [A.H.] nine hundred and thirty-one [A.D. June-July 1525]."

Published References
  • James Waterson. The Ismaili Assassins: A History of Medieval Murder. London. pl. 12.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 48, pp. 160-161.
  • Henry Corbin, Paul Pelliot, Eustache de Lorey. Les Arts de l'Iran, l'ancienne Perse, et Bagdad. Paris. cat. 64, p. 162.
  • Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani. Le Chant du Monde: L'Art de l'Iran safavide, 1501-1736. Exh. cat. Paris. cat. 35, pp. 212-213.
  • 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. 278, pp. 242-244.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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