Sufi riding a leopard from a Bustan (Orchard) by Sa'di (1291)

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Ahmad al-Husayni al-Mashhadi

• Description

  Manuscript; Bustan (Orchard) by Sa'di; Persian in black and gold nasta'liq script; 46 folios with 1 sarlawh (folio 1 verso), 1 dated colophon (folio 46 recto), 2 paintings (fols.4, and 14 recto), and illuminated headings; inscriptions: fols. 14, 17, 46, 53 recto; standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.

  Binding: The manuscript is bound in Turkish red leather over paper pasteboards with gold tooling on the exterior covers and doublures of marbled paper. The envelop flap has a border of multiple fillets with a scalloped medallion at the tip of the flap.

• Inscriptions

  Fols. 14, 17 recto: on doorways: "oh bestower; oh opener of the gates."

  Fols. 14, 17 recto: on doorways: "oh bestower; oh opener of the gates."

• Provenance

  To 1912

  Arsène Aftandil. [1]

  From 1912 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Arsène Aftandil on June 22, 1912. [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] 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. 399. See also Glen D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 2: Ledger of Acquisitions, 1894 and 1907-17" in A Jeweler’s Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 232.

  [2] See note 1.

  [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

  Le Chant du monde: L'Art de l'Iran safavide, 1501-1736 (October 05, 2007 to January 07, 2008)

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

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

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

  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

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Arsène Aftandil

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  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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  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, Aftandil, Arsène

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts