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

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At A Glance

  • Period

    circa 1440
  • Geography

    Iran
  • Material

    Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W: 32.1 x 23.3 cm (12 5/8 x 9 3/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    S1986.150
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S1986.150

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

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