Album folio; recto: Lady with two attendants; verso: calligraphy

Object Details

• Description

  Detached album folio; left-hand half of a double-page composition; text: Persian and Arabic in black nasta'liq script; recto: Lady with two attendants; verso: panel of calligraphy, one column, six lines; signed by Muhammad Ibrahim.

  Border: The recto is set in a frame of gold foliate and arabesque motifs mounted on a blue-colored paperboard with gold flowers. The verso is set in black rulings surrounded by a green border mounted on a blue- colored paperboard with colored flowers.

• Inscriptions

  Verso: praise be to God, the bestower of images, and prayers upon his Prophet, dispatched to all mankind, and upon his family and companions. May He help us on the day of resurrection. This unique painted album is a regal pearl from the sea of calligraphy and depiction...The beauty of its figures is beyond the world of reality and imagination, and the beauty of its images is the symbol of manifestations of the world of archetypes...the poor Muhammad Ibrahim [A.H.] 1287 [A.D. 1869-70].

• 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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  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

  1860s, 1870s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Henri Vever collection, Woman, Attendant, Lute

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings