Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); verso: Suhrab in combat with Rustam; recto: text

Object Details

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script, recto: text, four columns, twenty-five lines; verso: illustration and text: Suhrab in combat with Rustam; one of a group of five folios.

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

• Provenance

  To at least 1931

  Octave Homberg, Paris, France. [1]

  1931

  Sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Collection de Octave Homberg, 3-5 June, 1931, no. 103. [2]

  To 1935

  Emile Tabbagh, Paris, France. [3]

  1935

  Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Collection de Monsieur Emile Tabbagh, May 20-21, 1935, no. 156. [4]

  From 1935 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased at the Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Collection de Monsieur Emile Tabbagh, May 21, 1935. [5]

  From 1942 to 1986

  Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France. [6]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France. [7]

  Notes:

  [1] The object was in the collection of Octave Homberg until June 1931. 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. 404.

  [2] See note 1. See also auction catalogue from Galerie Georges Petit, Catalogue des tableaux anciens, objets d'art et de haute curiosité européens et orientaux, objets d'extrême-Orient, meubles et sièges, sculptures et bronzes du XVIIIe siècle, composant la collection de Octave Homberg, no. 103, p. 52, pl. XLVII.

  [3] The object was in the collection of Emile Tabbagh of New York and Paris, France by 1935 when it was published in the auction catalogue, Collection de M. Emile Tabbagh: Art Oriental. Paris, May 20-21, 1935. 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. 404.

  [4] See note 3.

  [5] See note 3. See also Glenn D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, 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. 35.

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

  [7] See note 6.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Hotel Drouot

  Emile Tabbagh (1879-80-1933)

  Galerie Georges Petit (1846-1933)

  Octave Homberg

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  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

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Galerie Georges Petit, Mautin, Francois Albert, Hotel Drouot, Homberg, Octave, Vever, Henri, Tabbagh, Emile

• Topic

  Art, Timurid period (1378 - 1506), Rustam, Henri Vever collection, Arts of the Islamic World, Sohrab, Shahnama, Epic literature

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts