Qasidat al-burda (Mantle of the prophet) by al-Busayri (d.1294)

Object Details

• Patron

  al-Malik al-Ashraf

• Description

  Manuscript; Qasidat al-burda (Mantle of the prophet) by Busayri; Arabic in blue, red, gold naskh and thuluth script; 29 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso and 2 recto) and one illuminated roundel (folio 29 verso); inscriptions (fols.1 verso, 2 recto, and 29 verso); standard page: 1 column, 3 lines of thuluth and lines of naskh.

  Binding: The manuscript is bound in nineteenth-century leather; the binding is of leather over paper pasteboards with lacquer painting on the covers. The upper and lower covers both have identical decorations of scalloped floral medallions and cornerpieces.

• Inscriptions

  Fols. 1 verso-2 recto: Rasm al-khazane al-sharifeh al-sultania aza amralah ta'al malik malikha seyedna va mulana al-mamalik al-mulk al-'azam azam, salatin al-arab va al-'ajam khadim al-haramayn al-sharifayn al-mamalik al-molk al-ashraf abi Nasr Qaytbay khuldulah melku va 'ar nasr va edam ghar.

  "For the noble treasury of the Sultan, may God continue the reign of his kingdom. Our lord and master, the great lord of the kingdom. Sultan of the Arabs and non-Arabs, keeper of the two holy harems, the most noble monarch Abu'l-Nasr; Qaytbay. May God preserve his kingdom and his victory and continue his glory."

  Fol. 29 verso: khedmat al-mamluk Qansaw al-Abubakri men tabageh al-ghasr talmiz al-'abd al-fagir alah Muhammad al-Marjushi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi a'ezalah ansar.

• Provenance

  To 1910

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

  From 1910 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Georges Demotte, Paris, France on November, 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 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. 231.

  [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

  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

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• 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

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

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

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims

• Object Type

  Manuscripts