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Sections of a Qur'an copied for Baghdadshah Khatun

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At A Glance

Period

Attributed to 1511-12 (917 A.H.)
Geography

Iran
Material

Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimension

H x W: 36.5 x 24.8 cm (14 3/8 x 9 3/4 in)
Accession Number

S1986.27
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_S1986.27

Object Details

Calligrapher

Ascribed to Sultan-Ali Qa'ini
Description

Manuscript; Sections of a Qur'an copied for Baghdadshah Khatun; Arabic in black muhaqqaq script; 40 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 2 verso, 3 recto), 2 medallions (fols. 2 recto, 40 verso); inscriptions on the flyleaf (folio 1 recto), endleaf (folio 40 verso); seals (folio 2 recto); standard page: one column, five lines of text, marginal medallions.

Binding: The manuscript is bound in sixteenth-century leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped medallion and corner pieces on the exterior covers; the envelope flap has a surface and border identical to that on the upper and lower covers, and doublures are decorated with leather filigree over a blue-colored paper ground.
Inscriptions

Fol. 1 recto (flyleaf): Men al-mujaradat Sultan- Ali Qa'ini Baghdad seneh saba' 'shr va tas'imaye.

"From the calligraphy of Sultan-Ali Qa'ini in Baghdad in the year[A.H.] 917 [A.D. 1511-12]."

In the upper right margins (folio 40 verso): [?] al-Hajj Ahmad Bostanchibashi asbagh seneh 1213.

"Was seen by al-Hajj Ahmad, the former bostancibasi [head of garden brigade] in the year [A.H.] 1213 [A.D. 1798-99]."

In the medallion (folio 40 verso): [?] lemullah al-'zimeh al-malekeh al-'adeleh al-mukarameh malake al-mulk [?] Baghdad Shah Khatun [?].

The great, just, noble lady, queen of queens, Baghdadshah Khatun, profited from reading this book.

(exterior of binding, front) white, square sticker with blue boarder and "26" written in black ink

(exterior of binding, exterior of envelope flap) white, square sticker with "17" typed in black ink

(interior, first folio inside cover) written in pencil and circled, "no. 26"

(interior, first folio inside cover) written upside down in pencil, "17"

(interior, second folio page) ecru, octagonal sticker with brown boarder, brown lines for writing inside frame and "No." printed in upper left, "1096" written in blue ink, strike through with pencil lines; first line, "Li. Rps"; second line, "Dec. 32"; third line, no. 130"

(interior, second folio) written in pencil, "1er Vente 9500" and "2n Vente isxy"

(interior last folio) written in blue ink, "No. 30" strike through with pencil

(interior last folio) written in pencil, "No 17"

(interior last folio) written in pencil "Vaspix"

(interior last folio" written in pencil "Collection Henri Vever"
Provenance

?-1932

Indjoudjian Frères, method of acquisition unknown [1]

1932

Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art proche-orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" December 19, 1932, lot 130 [2]

?-1942

Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [3]

1942-1947

Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [4]

1947-1986

Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [5]

From 1986

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [6]

Notes:

[1] See note 2. Indjoudjian Frères was an antiquities dealership based in Paris and New York, owned by the Armenian-born brothers Agop (1871-1951) and Meguerditch (1884-1927).

[2] See Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art Proche-Orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" [auction catalogue] (Paris: December 19, 1932), lot 130. The work is described as « CORAN ARABE du XVe siècle. Très belle écriture à rosaces dorées et magnifiques pages d'ouverture à décor polychrome. " See also auction sticker affixed to interior of manuscript.

[3] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever (1854-1942) amassed a large and impressive collection of

works of art during his lifetime. His holdings in Japanese prints and Islamic arts of the books, especially from Iran and India,

were among the most important assembled in the early twentieth century.

[4] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the work. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.

[5] Upon the death of Jeanne Louise Monthiers, as stipulated in the will of Henri Vever, the family's assets were divided evenly between his two grandchildren. His only grandson, Francois Mautin inherited the collection known as "The Henri Vever Collection of Oriental Art and Manuscripts Including Persian and Indian Art and Manuscripts." This work is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 4.

[6] The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file.

Research completed May 4, 2022.
Collection

Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History

Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600-1600 (September 08, 2007 to January 06, 2008)

The Divine Word of Islam (July 4, 1993 to January 2, 1994)

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

Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

Henri Vever (1854-1942)

Indjoudjian Freres

Agop Indjoudjian (1871-1951)
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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