Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); recto: text: Battle of Shida and Kay Khusraw; verso: Shida, Son of Afrasiyab, slain by Kay Khusraw

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 the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi, text: Persian in black and red naskh script; recto: text, Battle of Shida and Kay Khusraw, six columns, thirty lines; verso: illustration and text, Shida slain by Kay Khusraw, six columns, twenty-one lines; one of a group of twelve folios. Patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din

  Border: The text and the painting are set in red and black rulings on cream-colored paper.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Charles Vignier (1863-1934)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• 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.

• 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, Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din, Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayni (known as) Mawsili

• Place

  Shiraz

• Topic

  Art, Kay Khusraw, Henri Vever collection, Inju dynasty (1335 - 1357), Arts of the Islamic World, Death, Mongol period (1220 - 1380), Shahnama, Epic literature

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Naskh script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts