Khamsa (Quintet) and Divan by Khwaju Kirmani (d. 1352 or 1361)

Object Details

• Description

  Manuscript; Khamsa (Quintet) and Divan (Collection of poetry) by Khwaju Kirmani, marginal text: Divan; Persian in black and gold nasta'liq script; 230 folios with a double-page painting (folio 1 verso - 2 recto), a double-page frontispiece (folio 2 verso- 3 recto), 4 sarlawhs (fols. 34, 103, 183, 213 verso), and 9 paintings (fols. 18 verso, 23 verso, 56 recto, 63 verso, 90 recto, 129 recto, 150 recto, 169 recto, 202 verso, and 223 recto); 1 dated colophon (folio 230 recto); inscription (folio 230 recto); standard page: 4 columns, 17 lines of text, and a marginal column.

  Binding: The manuscript is in a nineteenth-century lacquer-painted binding with floral scalloped medallion and floral ornaments on the upper and lower covers. The doublures are of leather with gold-painted designs.

• Marks

  Affixed to front fly leaf: upper right corner, white rectangular sticker, "International Exhibition of Persian Art, London 1931" printed in black ink around border with "VV 8" written in black ink.

  Affixed to font fly leaf: upper right, round sticker with "Douanes Expositions - Paris" printed in green / blue ink.

  Affixed to front fly leaf: two round stickers, one on top of other, on top sticker "2" written in black ink.

  Affixed to front fly leaf: round sticker with "8" written in pencil.

  Exterior spine of manuscript: round, white sticker, with "E Poësies de Khadjou 841=1438 XVe" written in black ink.

  Exterior spine of manuscript: round, white sticker, with "E Poësies de Khadjou 841=1438 XVe" written in black ink.

• Inscriptions

  Colophon: folio 230 recto: "completed in the beginning of the month of Rajab, the year of [A.H.] 841 [A.D. 1438]."

  Front fly leaf: upper left corner, written in pencil, circled, and lined out, "3"

  Front fly leaf: upper left corner, written in pencil, "Avril 1923"

  Front fly leaf: upper left corner, written in pencil, "no. 128"

  Front fly leaf: upper left corner, written in pencil, "axsbt"

  Front fly leaf: upper left corner, written in pencil, "m. s. c. .15"

  Front fly leaf: upper right corner, written in pencil, "apsbt=anthal"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, "poème de Khâdjoû, de Kirman"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, (né en 679 -- mort en 753 A. H.)

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, "date 841 -- 1438"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, "(reliure du XVIIIe S)"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, circled "8"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, "Londres ip"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, lower part of page, "752"

  Front fly leaf: written in pencil, circled "15" or "35"

  Back fly leaf: written in pencil, "apsbt avril et"

  Back fly leaf: written in pencil, "ih"

  Back fly leaf: written in black ink, "dated 841 (1438)

  Back fly leaf: written in black ink, "Samarkand or Herat"

  Black fly leaf: written in black ink, "Les 4 premières pages sont de toute beauté et rareté"

  Back fly leaf: written in pencil, "9 miniatures"

  Back fly leaf: written in pencil, "oeuvres complètes du poète Khâdjou né en 679 mort en 753 A H"

  Back fly leaf: written in pencil, "date 841 AH = 1438"

• Label

  Kamaluddin Abu'l-Ata Mahmud Murshidi, a native of Kirman, was commonly known as Khwaju Kirmani. Born in 1281, he became, during the reign of the Ilkhanid (1256-1353) Sultan Abu-Sa'id (r. 1317-35), one of the court's most noted panegyrists (eulogist). He died in either 1352 or 1361.

  His Khamsa, (Quintet), is loosely based on the Khamsa of the great thirteenth-century poet Nizami. The five poems that make up Khwaju Kirmani's quintet, which was completed in 1345, consist of two romances, Nawroz u Gul and Humay u Humayun as welll as three ethical poems inspired by Sufi mysticism: the Kamalnama (Book of Perfection), the Rawdat al-anwar (Garden of Lights), and the Gawharnama (Book of Jewels).

• Provenance

  By 1912-?

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  ?-1923

  Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936), method of acquisition unknown [2]

  1923

  Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Charles Vignier, "Liquidation de Biens Meyer-Riefstahl: Ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de séquestre de guerre, première vente," April 23-24, 1923, lot 128 [3]

  From at least 1931-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [4]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [5]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [6]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [7]

  Notes:

  [1] See Fredrik Robert Martin, "The miniature painting and painters of Persia, India and Turkey, from the 8th to the 18th century, Vol. 2" [book] (London: Bernard Quaritch, 1912), no. 243, plate 243. In the publication, Fredrik Robert Martin is listed as owner of the work.

  Fredrik Robert Martin was a Swedish diplomat, archeologist, and historian who

  also specialized in Islamic art. He was

  an avid collector and dealer of Islamic art, especially manuscripts.

  [2] See note 3. 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.

  [3] See Hôtel Drouot, Charles Vignier, "Liquidation de Biens Meyer-Riefstahl: Ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de séquestre de guerre, première vente," [auction catalogue] (Paris: Hotel Drouot, April 23-24, 1923) lot 128.

  [4] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever (1854-1942) 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.

  It is unclear if Vever acquired this work from the Meyer-Riefstahl sequestration sale (see notes 2 and 3) or if he purchased it from an intermediary. Regardless, Vever had this work by 1931, when he lent it for exhibition. See "International Exhibition of Persian Art, 7 January 1931 to 7 March 1931" [exhibition catalogue] (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1931), no, 539B. This work was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.

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

  [6] 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 work is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 5.

  [7] 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

• Exhibition History

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

  Love and Yearning: Mystical and Moral Themes in Persian Painting (August 30, 2003 to February 22, 2004)

  Paintings from Shiraz (December 24, 1994 to August 27, 1995)

  Crushed Lapis and Burnished Gold: The Art of Illumination (June 9 to December 8, 1991)

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

  International Exhibition of Persian Art (January 7 to March 7, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936)

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

• Origin

  Shiraz, Iran

• 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, Riefstahl, Rudolf Meyer, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Vever, Henri, Martin, Fredrik Robert

• Place

  Shiraz

• Topic

  Divan, Art, Timurid period (1378 - 1506), Henri Vever collection, Khamsa, Arts of the Islamic World, Angels

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts