Object Details
- Description
- Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: illustration and text, Rustam kicks back the rock rolled on him by Bahman, inscription on the banner; verso: text, four columns, twenty-five lines; folio is attached to the facing folio (S 1986.263); one of a group of twenty-five folios.
- Border: The painting is set in gold, red and purple rulings on paper with landscape and animal motifs; the text is set in gold, red and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.
- Inscriptions
- On banner, Help from God and present victory; [From Sura al-Saf (the Ranks), sura 61:13] .
- Provenance
- To 1910
- Reza Khan Monif, Paris, France. [1]
- From 1910 to 1942
- Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Reza Khan Monif, Paris, France on October 14, 1910. [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. 407. 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. 230.
- [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.
- Collection
- Arthur M. Sackler Collection
- Exhibition History
- Le Chant du monde: L'Art de l'Iran safavide, 1501-1736 (October 05, 2007 to January 07, 2008)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Henri Vever (1854-1942)
- Reiza Khan Monif (1850/1851-1923)
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- ca. 1590-1600
- Period
- Safavid period
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
- Medium
- Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 32.5 x 19.9 cm (12 13/16 x 7 13/16 in)
- Type
- Manuscript
