Kulliyat (Complete works) by Sa'di (d.1291)

Object Details

• Description

  Manuscript; Kulliyat (Complete works) by Sa'di; Persian in black nasta’liq script with pagination in Arabic; illuminated headings in white; 451 folios with 1 double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso,1 recto), 4 sarlawhs (fols. 42verso, 117verso, 250verso, 342 verso), 5 colophons (42 recto, 117 recto, 250 recto, 342 recto, 451 recto), inscriptions and illegible seal (fols.1 recto); standard page: 2 columns, 17 lines of text, 1 marginal column with 12 lines.

  Binding: the manuscript is bound in leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped central panel and smaller panels on the exterior covers and gold block-stamped doublures with leather filigree over a blue colored paper ground.

• Inscriptions

  Folio 1 recto: “this volume of the book Kulliyat of Shaykh Mushraf al-Din entered the library in the month of dhu'l-qa'de [?]."

  'Kulliyat-i Shaykh Sa'di, the purpose is the legacy that is left by us."

  "As I wrote, I have no news of my natural disposition, when my life expires, and how I come to an end."

  “Truth and annihilation and drunkenness, al-'arif [?].

  Folio 451 recto: “the book was completed with God's assistance in the evening of the last Saturday of the month of Jumada I, in the year [A.H.] nine hundred and twenty-one [A.D. July 7, 1515]. Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe, and prayer and peace to the prophet his beloved; seal of Prophet Muhammad al-mustafa [the elect], al-mujtaba [the chosen], al-amin [the trusted], and his family."

• 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

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

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• 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

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

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

• Place

  Shiraz

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts