Seated prince with attendant

Object Details

• Description

  Detached album folio; text: Persian and Arabic in black nasta'liq script; recto: Seated prince with attendant, inscription on the margin reads: Jahangir Padishah; verso: calligraphic panel, couplets of poem on marbled paper.

  Border: The recto is set in green rulings with an inner frame of gold floral scroll and an outer frame of dark blue, geometrical interlace; the verso is set in gold rulings surrounded by a tendril scroll on a dark blue ground, mounted on a dark red, gold-sprinkled paperboard.

• Marks

  Old matting, recto: Djehanguir Ferhangi Djehanguiri?, written in pencil

  Old matting, recto: Prince Djehangir [sic] written in black ink

  Old matting, recto: H. Vever written in blue pencil

  Old matting, recto: 6 underlined, written in blue pencil

  Old matting, recto: 308 A written in pencil

  Old matting, recto: est Dem -p-- [faded], written in pencil

  Old matting, black paper: Djahanghir written in pencil

  Old matting, black paper: Djahanghir written in pencil

• Inscriptions

  Recto: Jahangir Padishah; verso: text: unidentified arabic poetry (from same text as poetry on S1986.69): Ilâhî anilnî minka rûhan wa-rahmatâ/ fa-lastu siwâ abwâba fadlika aqra`u/ Ilâhî dhunûbî baddat al-tawda wa-`talat/ wa-safuka `an dhanbî ajallu wa-arfa`u/ Ilâhî yunahhî dhkru tawlika law`atî/ wa-dhikri 'l-khatâyâ 'l-`aynu minnî yudamma`u [O God, make me to acquire from thee spirit and mercy,/ for I knock only at the gates of thy grace./ O God, my sins have weighted down the tallest mountains,/ but thy forgiveness of my sin is loftier than that./ O God, the remembrance of thy might drives away my anguish,/ and by the remembrance of [my] sins my eye is mase to tear.]; in Persian, upside down on right side: Pârsârâ bas în qadar zindân/ ki buvad dar tavîla-i rindân/ gar malûlî... [For a pious person it is enough of a prison/ to be among a stableful of roués./ If you are out of sorts...[breaks off]] [This Persian text sounds as though it has been taken from Khwaja Abdullah Ansari's Munâjât.]

• Provenance

  ?-no later than 1903

  Possibly Georges Demotte (1877-1923), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  By 1903-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely purchased from Georges Demotte [2]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [3]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [4]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See annotation “Dem.” on the work’s original matting, which suggests the work was possibly sold by Georges Demotte to Vever. Georges Demotte was a collector and dealer of Islamic and medieval European art. He had galleries in Paris and New York City.

  [2] 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. The work was included along with S1986.420 in Gaston Migeon et al. “Exposition des arts musulmans: catalogue descriptif” [exhibition catalogue] (Paris: Société française d’imprimerie et de librairie, 1903), p. 114, no. 906. This work was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942. Vever had the work in his collection at the time of his death.

  [3] 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.

  [4] 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.

  [5] 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 January 22, 2024.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Northern India

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1910s, 1890s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Demotte, Georges, Vever, Henri

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Prince, Art, Fly whisk, Henri Vever collection, Attendant, Marbling

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings