Object Details
- Court
- Mughal Court
- School/Tradition
- Mughal school
- Description
- Detached album folio; Dara-Shikoh with Main Mir and Mulla Shah; text in cartouches: Persian in black nasta'liq script; two unidentified quatrain within cartouches; obliterated seal; inscriptions containing the name of Mulla Shah, Dara-Shikoh, and Main Mir.
- Border: The painting is set in gold and black rulings in a gold-sprinkled border, surrounded by a border with floral and animal motifs and marginal cartouches, mounted on a cream-colored paperboard.
- Marks
- Old matting, interior: Est. D. hnxxx (hpasx), written in pencil
- Old matting, interior: Réunion de Philosophes, written in pencil
- Old matting, interior: Vever 330, written in pencil
- Old matting, interior: Vever, underlined and written in pencil
- Old matting, exterior: Mr. Vever, written in blue pencil
- Old matting, exterior: M apx, written in black ink
- Old matting, exterior: II 3 3 15, written in pencil
- Old matting, exterior: R. Tacaro, written in pencil
- Mount board: 70 V, written in pencil
- Mount board: 70 V, written in pencil
- Inscriptions
- Identifications on illustrations: right side (identifying upper middle figure in white): Mian Mir; left side (1, identifying figure facing Mian Mir): Mulla Shah; (2,identifying figure to left of Mulla Shah): Dara Shikoh.
- Upper sides and top cartouches: 2 lines (4 hemistiches) of an unidentified quatrain: Dar kûy-i tu kaz dîda guhar mîrezad/ vaz har muzha khûnân-i jigar mîrezad/ chun nâma-i man burd kabûtar k'ânjâ/ jâmîst ki Jibrîl [ba] par mîrezad [In your lane.
- "Where tear-pearls rain from my eyes,/ and from every lash my passion's blood spills,/ when the dove carries my message there,/ it is a goblet that Gabriel pours over his wings."
- Lower sides and bottom cartouches: 3 hemistiches of an unidentified quatrain: Chun garm shavad zi bâda mârâ rag u pay/ kunjî u farâghatî u yak shîsha-i may/ bâ shâhid-i shûkh u shang u bâ barbat u nay.
- Lower sides and bottom cartouches: 3 hemistiches of an unidentified quatrain: Chun garm shavad zi bâda mârâ rag u pay/ kunjî u farâghatî u yak shîsha-i may/ bâ shâhid-i shûkh u shang u bâ barbat u nay.
- Provenance
- ?-?
- Possibly Georges Demotte (1877-1923), method of acquisition unknown [1]
- By 1912-1942
- Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [2]
- 1942-1947
- Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [3]
- 1947-1986
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [4]
- From 1986
- National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased from Francois Mautin [5]
- Notes:
- [1] See annotation “Est. D” on the old matting, which suggests the work was estimated and possibly sold by Georges Demotte to Vever. Georges Demotte was a collector and dealer of Islamic and medieval European art. He had galleries in Paris and New York City.
- [2] See Georges Marteau and Henri Vever, “Miniatures Persanes” [exposition catalogue] (Paris, Bibliothéque d’Art et d’Archéologie, 1913) no. 244. 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.
- [3] 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.
- [4] 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.
- [5] 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. This work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.
- Research updated April 18, 2024.
- Collection
- Arthur M. Sackler Collection
- Exhibition History
- Arts of Mughal India (2004) (August 21, 2004 to February 6, 2005)
- The Vision of Kings: Art and Experience in India (November 25, 1995 to April 28, 1996)
- A Mughal Hunt (March 13 to September 11, 1994)
- Arts of Mughal India (1992) (May 24 to December 6, 1992)
- A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Possibly Georges Demotte (1877-1923)
- Henri Vever (1854-1942)
- Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Author
- Lalchand
- Date
- ca. 1640
- Period
- Mughal dynasty
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, mounted on paperboard
- Dimensions
- H x W (overall): 33.7 x 26.2 cm (13 1/4 x 10 5/16 in)
- Type
- Painting
