Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); verso: Gudarz slays Piran on the mountain; recto: text

Object Details

• Description

  Folio from a dispersed copy of the Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi mounted; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: text, four columns, nineteen lines; verso: illustration and text, Gudarz slays Piran on the mountain, inscription on the banner; the facing folio (S1986.264); one of a group of twenty-five folios.

  Border: The painting is set in gold, red, purple, green and blue rulings on paper with landscape and animal motifs painted in gold; the text is set in gold, red and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

• Inscriptions

  On banner, "help from God and victory and an imminent conquest from God; [From Sura al-Saf, sura 61:13]."

• Provenance

  To 1910

  Reza Khan Monif, Paris, France. [1]

  From 1910 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Reza Khan Monif, Paris, France on October 14, 1910. [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. 407. 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. 230.

  [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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Reiza Khan Monif (1850/1851-1923)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Probably Qazvin or Isfahan, 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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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1500s, 1610s, 1600s, 1590s, 1540s, 1650s, 1530s, 1640s, 1520s, 1630s, 1510s, 1620s, 1580s, 1730s, 1690s, 1570s, 1680s, 1560s, 1670s, 1550s, 1660s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Monif, Reiza Khan, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Qazvin, Isfahan

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Mountains, Art, Gudarz, Henri Vever collection, Arts of the Islamic World, Death, Piran, Shahnama

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts