Bearded man leans on stick

Object Details

• Description

  Detached album leaf; Bearded man leans on stick.

  Border: The tinted drawing is set in a gold-sprinkled inner frame mounted on a black border with floral and animal motifs and calligraphy panels in Persian white nasta'liq script.

• Label

  This haunting image of an elderly, turbaned figure conforms to a well-known type in Safavid single-page compositions. Although his carefully modeled face, aquiline nose, and piercing gaze distinguish him from similar works, it remains unclear whether the drawing represents an actual or imaginary portrait. The verses in the border claim:

  Your black eyes are the affliction of the viewers,

  Your eyebrows are as mysteriously fascinating as the

  halo around the moon,

  You should not only claim the moon's beauty:

  This tale is better known than the sun.

• Provenance

  From at least 1910

  Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947), Paris, from at least 1910 [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] The object is documented as having appeared in the collection of Léonce Rosenberg by at least July 21, 1910. 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. 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), pp. 298, 320-321, no. 374.

  [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

  Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006)

  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

  Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  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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• Related Resources

  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, Rosenberg, Léonce, Vever, Henri

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Albums