Seated princess

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Muhammad-Sharif Musawwir

  Border signed by Muhammad Murad Samarqandi

• Description

  Album folio: Seated princess; right-hand half of a double-page composition; signature in the border.

  Border: The painting is set in gold, green and black rulings in a gold inner frame and an outer margin painted with scenes of feasting in an outdoor setting.

• Signatures

  Signature in the border.

• Inscriptions

  Bottom page border, on a rock: “the work of Muhammad Murad Samarqandi."

• Label

  The sources for some album-page compositions defy clear explanation. One such example is this image of a young woman dressed in a robe composed of interlocking figures, mostly male, and a few quadrupeds. Although cramped and crowded together, they appear far more peaceful than the fierce animals hovering around the woman's head.

  In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, such composite designs enjoyed considerable popularity in Iran and probably carried a special talismanic meaning, no longer clear to contemporary viewers. In this instance, the woman's garment may also suggest her hallucinatory, ecstatic vision induced by wine, which has brought a faint smile to her lips.

• Provenance

  ?-1942

  Henri Vever (1851-1942), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [2]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [3]

  From 1986

  The National Museum of Asian Art, by purchased from Francois Mautin [4]

  Notes:

  [1] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever 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. This object was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.

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

  [3] 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 object is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.

  [4] The Museum purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file. This work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

  Research updated on June 27, 2024

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  George Marteau et l'art du livre persan (June 26, 2019 to January 6, 2020)

  Shahzia Sikander Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection (March 6 to August 31, 2009)

  Visual Poetry: Paintings and Drawings from Iran (December 16, 2001 to May 5, 2004)

  Other Worldly Visions: Persian and Indian Paintings from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (March 27, 1998 to May 10, 1998)

  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)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Probably Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1610s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Topic

  Art, Princess, Henri Vever collection, Food habits, Arts of the Islamic World, Uzbek period (1500 - 1598)

• Culture

  Muslims

• Object Type

  Paintings