Two lovers and a bearded man

Object Details

• Artist

  Riza Abbasi (ca. 1565-1635)

• Description

  Album leaf; Two lovers and a bearded man; tinted drawing.

  Border: The drawing occupies the full width of the page.

• Label

  This drawing is presumably a preparatory sketch for a painting now in the Seattle Art Museum, Washington, by the celebrated painter Riza Abbasi. The finished composition includes the image of the couple, while the elderly man has been replaced by a young cupbearer.

• Provenance

  From at least 1934

  Albert Besnard, from at least 1934 [1]

  To 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, to 1942 [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] 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. 409.

  [2] See Glenn D. Lowry et al., An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 319, no. 371.

  [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

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

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Albert Besnard

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Isfahan, Iran

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Album

• 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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  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, Besnard, Albert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Isfahan

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Lovers, Art, Henri Vever collection, Arts of the Islamic World

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Albums