Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) by Firdawsi (d.1020); recto: Iskandar and Khidr on horseback; verso: text, Iskandar seeks the fountain of life

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: Iskandar and Khidr on horseback; verso: text, Iskandar seeks the fountain of life, four columns, twenty-five lines; one of a group of twenty-five folios.

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

• Inscriptions

  On the banner: help from God and present victory, sura LXI: 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

• Exhibition History

  Islamic Representations of the Classical Past (February 14 to May 13, 2018)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Reiza Khan Monif (1850/1851-1923)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Shiraz, 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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  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, Alexander, Monif, Reiza Khan, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Shiraz

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Art, Animals, Henri Vever collection, Khizr, Horses, Arts of the Islamic World, Shahnama, Epic literature

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts