Object Details
- Description
- Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian with a few Arabic lines in black nasta'liq script; recto: illuminated page, Baysunghuri preface, one column, twenty-five lines; verso: text, one column, twenty five lines of prose; one of a group of twenty-six folios.
- Border: The text is set in gold, red and purple rulings on cream-colored paper.
- Provenance
- ?-1942
- Henri Vever (1851-1942), method of acquisition unknown [1]
- 1942-1947
- Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [2]
- 1947-1986
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [3]
- From 1986
- The National Museum of Asian Art, by purchased from Francois Mautin [4]
- Notes:
- [1] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever 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. This object was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.
- [2] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the object. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.
- [3] 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 object is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.
- [4] The Museum purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file. This work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.
- Research updated on June 27, 2024
- Collection
- Arthur M. Sackler Collection
- Previous custodian or owner
- Henri Vever (1854-1942)
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- circa 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: 32.1 x 19.8 cm (12 5/8 x 7 13/16 in)
- Type
- Manuscript
