Composite page of calligraphy

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Sultan Mahmud and others

  Lower left panel: signed by Sultan Mahmud

• Description

  Detached album folio; Page of calligraphies; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; four calligraphic panels: the panel in the lower left-hand corner contains two couplets from the Divan of Hafiz, signed by Sultan Mahmud; the panel in the upper right-hand corner of the page is from the Divan of Ansari.

  Border: The text panels are set in gold, red and blue rulings mounted on marbled gold-sprinkled paperboard.

• Inscriptions

  Bottom left, triangular illuminated panel: "written by the sinful slave Sultan Mahmud, may God forgive his sins and conceal his faults."

  Bottom left, triangular illuminated panel: "written by the sinful slave Sultan Mahmud, may God forgive his sins and conceal his faults."

• 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

  Variations on a Script: Islamic Calligraphy from the Vever Collection (February 18 to September 16, 1990)

• Previous custodian or owner

  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

  Calligraphy

• 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

  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, Vever, Henri

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)