al-Kawakib al-durriya fi madh khayr al-bariyya (Celestial lights in praise of the best of the creation) known as Qasida al-Burda (Ode to the Mantle of the Prophet) by Sharaf al-Din Abi Abdallah Muhammad ibn Sa'id Dalasi al-Busiri (d. 1296) and al-Hizb al-Sayfi (Prayer of the Sword)

Object Details

• Description

  Two manuscripts bound together: al-Kawakib al-durriya fi madh khayr al-bariyya (Celestial lights in praise of the best of the creation) known as Qasida al-burda (Ode to the Mantle of the Prophet) by Sharaf al-Din Abi Abdallah Muhammad ibn Sa'id Dalasi al-Busiri and al-Hizb al-Sayfi (Prayer of the Sword); Arabic in black, red, blue, and green muhaqqaq and naskh script; 41 folios, Qasida al-Burda: Arabic, fol. 1-28 with two illuminations (fols.1 recto and 28 recto), Al-Hizb al-Sayfi: Arabic, fols. 29-41 with one illumination (fol. 29 recto); Inscriptions on fols 28 recto and 29 recto; standard page: 3 lines of muhaqqaq and 9 lines of naskh.

  Binding: The two manuscripts have no covers.

• Inscriptions

  Fol. 1recto: "For the treasury of Our master the Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Abi'l-Nasr Inal."

  Fol. 28recto: "At the service of the Mamluk Esinbay b. Abdullah al-Malik al-Ashrafi."

  Fol. 29recto: "Abi'l-Nasr Barsbay. May God protect his kingdom forever and make firm the foundations of his empire."

  Affixed to front fly leaf: white circle sticker with "Henri Vever" printed in ink on top boarder; "no. 9" underlined twice and "no. 6" written in pencil below

  Affixed to front fly leaf: white square sticker with red border, printed in red ink "EXPOS. ARTS MUS. La Haye 1927"

  Affixed to front fly leaf: white round sticker with "Douanes Expositions, Paris" printed in purple/blue ink, "13" written in pencil over the printed purple/blue text

  On front fly leaf: top left corner, written in pencil "4004"

  On front fly leaf: center of page, written in pencil "4004"

  On front fly leaf: top left corner, written in pencil "tspx Vi."

  On front fly leaf: top left corner, written in pencil "D rs à ax-xxx"

  On front fly leaf: center top of page, written in pencil "H. VEVER"

  On front fly leaf: center of page, written in pencil "Caire -- XVe Siècle"

  On front fly leaf: center of page, written in pencil "(Sans reliure)"

  On front fly leaf: top right corner, written in pencil "inv no. 207 Riefstahl"

  On front fly leaf: top right corner, written in pencil "620 Vignier"

  Affixed to front fly leaf: bottom left of page, white rectangular sticker with blue border, "30" written in pencil

  On front fly leaf: bottom left corner, written in pencil, "[S] 109 -- 13"

  On front fly leaf: bottom right corner, written in black ink, "E.109.12"

  On back fly leaf: center of top, written in pencil "Collection Henri Vever -- Paris

  On back fly leaf: center of top, written in pencil "(sans reliure)"

  On back fly leaf: center of top, written in pencil "Caire XVe siècle"

  On first page: right corner, written in black ink on the folio: "Collection Henri Vever Paris"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on upper page, written in black ink at top of paper "XIV-XV" and "E.109.13"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on upper page, written in red pencil in upper right corner: "O"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on upper page, written in black ink on paper:

  "Ms contenant:

  1. Le Qassidat . el . Bordah (written above in pencil: Poëme du manteau) écrit en bon sols pour la bibliothèque de Sultan Mameluck : el malik el Achraf Inâl

  2. Une invocation pieuse, calligraphier en sols per l'esclave Isen. Bey pour l'usage du Sultan Bars Bay

  3. Sarlow orné et polychrome f.1.28.29

  Affixed to first page: white paper on upper page, written in pencil at bottom of paper: "Thuluth" and "rlqq"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in pencil at the top left of paper: "HV Sept 1912"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in black ink in top right of paper: "E.109.13"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in black ink:

  Ms. dérelié, contenant :

  1.(f˚1 à 27) le Qassidat al Bordah, fameux poëme à la louange du prophète per Al Boussirî.

  Cette partie du ms a été calligraphié en bon thuluth pour la bibliothèque du Sultan Mamelouck Al Malik el Ashraf Inâl. s.I. s.d.

  Le f. 1 contient au recto une page enluminée en bleu et or composée d'un frontispice et d'une rosace.

  2. (f˚ 28 à 40) Une invocation pieuse. Cette partie du ms a été exécutée par l'esclave Isen. bey pour l'usage du Sultan Mamelouck Bers. Bay, en assez bon Thuluth S.I.s.d.

  Le f ˚ 28 recto contient une page de garde ornée d'une rosace et le f ˚ 29 une page pleine enluminée (celle exposée) 40 H. 0.285/0.392

  B. Le Sultan Bars Bay est Ashraf Sayf al. Din Bars.Bey 1422-1438 AD

  Ecrit au Sultan Al Malik al Ashraf Inal, Est-ce

  Ashraf Sayf al din Inâl 1453-1460 ?

  Mener des recherches ultérieures pour arriver à une correction certaine

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in black ink on bottom of page,: "V"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in pencil on bottom of page: "rixxy", "htsxx" and "Vignier"

  Affixed to first page: white paper on lower page, written in pencil on bottom of page: "rixxy", "htsxx" and "Vignier"

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Likely Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  ?-1912

  Charles Vignier (1868-1934), method of acquisition unknown [2]

  1912-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), purchased from Charles Vignier [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] On the exterior of the bound manuscripts, one can see, "no. 207 Riefstahl" written in pencil. Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl was a German-American art historian specializing in medieval Islamic art. At the beginning of World War I, Meyer Riefstahl relocated from Paris, France to New York City, where he eventually became a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts.

  Meyer Riefstahl left his art collection in Paris and the French government sequestered the collection as an "Enemy Alien Asset." The collection was sold in two auctions, the first in 1923 and the second in 1925.

  [2] See ledger cited in note 3. See also Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach with Roya Marefat and Wheeler M. Thackston, "An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection" [exhibition catalogue] (Washington, D.C. and Seattle: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and University of Washington Press, 1986), 25. Charles Vignier was a Swiss-born writer, collector, and art dealer who opened his first gallery in 1904. Between 1920 and 1930, he served as the expert in Asian art at the Parisian auction house, Hôtel Drouot.

  [3] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever amassed a large collection of fine art. His collections of Japanese prints and Islamic manuscripts were widely respected, as Vever acquired pieces of exceptional quality and rarity. Intensely studying the visual aspects of Islamic art, loaning to exhibitions, and publishing on Islamic art, Vever quickly became one of the leading experts on Islamic painting and manuscripts.

  See Henri Vever Account Ledger, FSA A1988.04_2.2.51, from Henri Vever Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. On September 12, 1912, Vever noted 2 purchases from Vignier, 34 Rue Laffitte. Vever describes the manuscript as "1 vol. dérelié, art Egypte arabe, frontispice et rosace, pour le sultan Bars Bay 1422-1438."

  [4] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the manuscript. 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 manuscript is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.

  [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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Charles Vignier (1863-1934)

  Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936)

• Origin

  Egypt

• 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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Vignier, Charles, Riefstahl, Rudolf Meyer, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Art, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Henri Vever collection, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination

• Culture

  Muslims

• Language

  Thuluth script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts