Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); recto: text; verso: right-hand half of a double-page illumination

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayni (known as) Mawsili

• Patron

  Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskh and thuluth script with few sentences in white outlined in black; recto: text, one column, 25 lines, verso: right-hand half of a double-page illumination, detached from the facing folio (S1986.111), text, one column, 14 lines; one of a group of 12 folios. patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din

  Border: The recto and verso are set in red and black rulings mounted on cream-colored paper.

• Inscriptions

  Illuminated shamsa: "for the flourishing library of the great lord, honorable minister, chief vizier of glorious Fars, possessor of generosity, source of liberality and virtue, the second judge in place, lover of the righteous, refuge to the poor and humble, glory of pilgrims to the house of God, the venerable Hajji Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din Hasan. May God prolong his greatness, and may he have divine guidance for good deeds and mercy upon his ancestors. Mercy of God upon a faithful servant." [The Persian word "fal" follows the inscription.]

• Provenance

  Charles Vignier (1863-1934), Paris, France. [1]

  To 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France. [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. 402.

  [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

  Paintings from Shiraz (December 24, 1994 to August 27, 1995)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Charles Vignier (1863-1934)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Shiraz, Iran

• 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, Vignier, Charles, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Shiraz

• Topic

  Art, Henri Vever collection, Inju dynasty (1335 - 1357), Shamsa, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination, Mongol period (1220 - 1380), Shahnama

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts