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Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) by Firdawsi (d. 1020); Nushirwan receives news of the revolt of his son Nushzad

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At A Glance

Period

late 17th century
Geography

India
Material

Opaque watercolor, gold and ink on paper
Dimension

H x W: 54.3 x 31.5 cm (21 3/8 x 12 3/8 in)
Accession Number

F1907.792
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1907.792

Object Details

Court

Mughal Court
School/Tradition

Mughal school
Provenance

?-1857

Reportedly Royal Library of Bahádar Sháh, method of acquisition unknown [1]

1857-1886

Ownership information unknown [2]

By 1886-1907

Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914), method of acquisition unknown [3]

1907-1919

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna [43

From 1920

Freer Gallery of Art, gift from Charles Lang Freer [5]

Notes:

[1] See “Catalogue of Indo-Persian Pictures and Manuscripts, Principally of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries by Native Artists, Collected by H. B. Hanna” [book], (London: Dowdeswell and Dowdeswells, 1890), page 28.

This catalog reports: “From the royal library of Bahádar Sháh, the last crowned descendant of the Moghul emperors. Taken at the storming of Delhi in 1857. Each of the volumes contains thirteen beautifully colored pictures.”

[2] See Note 1

[3] In the Freer Art Inventory, created sometime before Charles Lang Freer’s death in 1919, cataloguers include notations indicating Col. Hanna owned the work by 1886. See Art Inventories, Paintings: Indian and Persian, H. B. Hanna collection, undated, from FSA A.01, Box 65, Folder No. 9, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer, copy in object file.

See “Catalogue of Indo-Persian Pictures and Manuscripts, Principally of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries by Native Artists, Collected by H. B. Hanna” [book].

Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) was an officer in the British military and a collector of Indian paintings. Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, Hanna’s family later moved to London, where he was baptized in 1851. Beginning in 1857, Hanna served as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1889. After his retirement, he resided in London and Petersfield with his younger sisters. According to Hanna, he began collecting Indian paintings during the time of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). See letter from Henry Bathurst Hanna to Charles Lang Freer, dated April 10, 1908 [sic, 1907], p. 3, Box 17, Folder No. 10, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

[4] See the Charles Lang Freer art voucher no. 24, “For a collection of Indo-Persian pictures and manuscripts” from H. B. Hanna of Heathmere, Petersfield, Hants. [Hampshire], England, from October 1907, Box 114, Folder No. 12, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., copy in object file.

[5] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer’s gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Research updated February 22, 2024
Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Previous custodian or owner

Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) (C.L. Freer source)

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Origin

India
Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Type

Manuscript
Restrictions and Rights

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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