Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami (d. 1209); recto: illuminated text: The story of Nushirwan and his vizier; verso: Nushirwan listens to the owls

Object Details

• Author

  Nizami (1145-1207)

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: illuminated text:The story of Nushirwan and his vizier, four columns, thirteen lines; verso: illustration and text: Nushirwan listens to the owls.

  Border: The text and the painting are set in gold, green, and red rulings on gold-sprinkled paper.

• Label

  The fine pigments, minute details, elegant lines, and well-drawn figures of this work are typical of early Safavid painting associated with the court of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76) at Tabriz. The story of the Sasanian king Nushirwan and his vizier happening upon a ruined village in which two owls are hooting at each other is from the Makhzan al-asrar, the first poem in Nizami's Quintet.

• Provenance

  To 1914

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923), Paris, France. [1]

  From 1914 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Georges Demotte (1877-1923), Paris, France on June 6, 1914. [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. 406. 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. 235.

  [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

  Love and Yearning: Mystical and Moral Themes in Persian Painting (August 30, 2003 to February 22, 2004)

  Variations on a Script: Islamic Calligraphy from the Vever Collection (February 18 to September 16, 1990)

  A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)

  Persian and Indian Painting - Selections from a Recent Acquisition (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Tabriz, 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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• Date

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• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Demotte, Georges, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Tabriz

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Art, Henri Vever collection, Owl, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts