Equestrian portrait of Shahjahan (r. 1628-58)

Object Details

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Description

  Detached album folio; Shahjahan on horseback.

  Border: The painting is set in gold and blue rulings mounted on an illuminated paperboard with quatrefoil and whirling arabesques, birds and floral motifs.

• Marks

  mating: ropx, written in pencil

  mating: Vever 305, written in pencil

  mating: n ͦ 149, written in pencil

  mating: 2227, written in pencil

  mating:rectangular sticker, blue boarder with 305 written in blue pencil

  mating:rectangular sticker, blue boarder with 305 written in blue pencil

• Provenance

  ?-1933

  Emile Tabbagh (ca.1880-1933), mode of acquisition unknown [1]

  1933-1935

  Family of Emile Tabbagh, by inheritance [2]

  1935

  Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Collection de Monsieur Emile Tabbagh, May 20-21, 1935, no. 149[3]

  1934 -1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely purchased at the Hôtel Drouot sale [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] With his brother George (b. ca.1870), Emile Tabbagh operated the art dealership Tabbagh Frères at 8 rue Rossini and then at 39 rue Lafayette in Paris. The brothers opened a second branch of their successful gallery in New York at 396 5th Avenue. They specialized in the sale of Rakka ware and of Persian art, especially works on paper. This work was in Emile Tabbagh’s personal collection, see notes 2 and 3.

  [2] Following Emile’s death on December 31, 1933, his brother George Tabbagh and the rest of his family sold his personal collections in two separate auctions. The first occurred in Paris on March 20 and 21, 1935 and the second was held in New York City on January 3 and 4, 1936. See note 3.

  [3] Hôtel Drouot, “Collection de Monsieur Emile Tabbagh,” [auction catalogue] (Paris, May 20-21, 1935), lot 149 (illustrated). The work is described as “Miniature Indo-Persane peinte en couleurs. XVII

  siècle. Portrait de Shah Jahan, coiffé d’un turban blanc, garni d’aigrettes et de perles et auréolé d’or." The lot number from this sale appears in pencil on the work’s early-20th-century mating.

  [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. This object 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 object. 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 object is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.

  [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 updated on May 2, 2023

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hotel Drouot

  Emile Tabbagh (1879-80-1933)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Rajasthan state, India

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1770s, 1750s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Hotel Drouot, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Vever, Henri, Tabbagh, Emile

• Place

  Rajasthan state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Animals, Henri Vever collection, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Horses, Portraits, Angels

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings