Folio from an Automata by al-Jazari; recto: Mechanical device for pouring a drink; verso: text

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Izmiri

• Patron

  Amir Nasr al-Din Muhammad

• Description

  Folio from a copy of Automata by al-Jazari, Kitab fi ma'arifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices); Arabic in black naskh script; recto: Mechanical Device for Pouring a Drink; verso: text: fifteen lines.

• Inscriptions

  Stamps: Pencil "96"; Chenue Emballeur; London 1931 VV35; Paris Douanes Expo; Round "Henri Vever"

• Provenance

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933). [1]

  From at least 1912

  Arthur Sambon (1867-1947), Paris, France. [2]

  To 1913

  Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947), Paris, France. [3]

  From 1913 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Léonce Rosenberg, Paris, France on May 26, 1913. [4]

  From 1942 to 1986

  Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France. [5]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France. [6]

  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. 402.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

  [4] 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. 233.

  [5] See the Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection of January 9, 1986, Collections Management Office.

  [6] See note 5.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Nur: Light in Art and Science from the Islamic World (March 30 to June 29, 2014)

  L'Age d'or des sciences arabes (October 25, 2005 to March 19, 2006)

  Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art: the Art of Islam (December 16, 1999 to April 24, 2000)

  America's Smithsonian (February 9 to August 26, 1997)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947)

  Arthur Sambon (1867-1947)

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Sambon, Arthur, Vever, Henri, Rosenberg, Léonce, Martin, Fredrik Robert

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Art, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Henri Vever collection, Food habits, Automata, Arts of the Islamic World

• Culture

  Muslims

• Object Type

  Manuscripts