Equestrian portrait of Muhammad Shah from the Impey Album

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Daswanth

• Court

  Mughal Court

• School/Tradition

  Mughal school

• Description

  Detached folio from a dispersed manuscript; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: Equestrian portrait of Muhammad Shah from the Impey Album; verso: calligraphic panel, central panel contains a quatrain surrounded by marginal calligraphic panels; one of a group of three folios; seal with date; signed by master Daswanth.

  Border: The recto is set in gold and black rulings in a pink frame, mounted on a cream-colored paperboard. The verso is set in gold and black rulings in a green inner frame surrounded by two calligraphic panels with illuminated corner pieces and side rectangles and an outer frame of turquoise floral scroll with a pink border, mounted on a cream-colored paperboard.

• Marks

  Old mating: Albert Besnard, written in pencil

  Old mating: No. 42, written in pencil

  Old mating: H. Vever, written in pencil, underlined

  Old mating: octagonal sticker, blue border, 431 and N ͦ 42 Besnard written in black ink

  Old mating: rectangular sticker, blue border, F. Petit 95 Rue Ampère, PARIS printed in blue

  Old mating: rectangular sticker, blue border, F. Petit 95 Rue Ampère, PARIS printed in blue

• Inscriptions

  Verso, margin, Amal-i ustad Daswanth.

  Verso, margin, Amal-i ustad Daswanth.

• Provenance

  ?-1934

  Albert Besnard (1849-1934), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1934

  Sale, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, “Collection Albert Besnard: Sculptures et bibelots antiques, sculptures du Moyen Ȃge et des temps modernes, tableaux anciens, maquettes, arts du Proche et du Moyen-Orient, bronzes, laques, peintures, gravures," May 31 and June 1, 1934, lot 180 [2]

  1934 -1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely purchased at the Albert Besnard sale [3]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [4]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [5]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [6]

  Notes:

  [1] Paul-Albert Besnard, known professionally as Albert Besnard was a French painter and print maker active in Paris during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Throughout his career, Besnard developed a collection of old master and modern painting, sculpture, and works on pper. His collection included numerous Islamic manuscripts and Indian paintings. Besnard was part of a group of connoisseurs, which included Henri Vever (see note 3), that appreciated and studied Persian and Indian paintings.

  [2] Galerie Charpentier, “Collection Albert Besnard: Sculptures et bibelots antiques, sculptures du Moyen Ȃge et des temps modernes, tableaux anciens, maquettes, arts du Proche et du Moyen-Orient, bronzes, laques, peintures, gravures," [auction catalogue](Paris, May 31 and June 1, 1934), lot 180, plate XVIII. The work is described as "Portrait d’un Mogol partant pour la chasse au faucon. Très belle enluminure du XVII

  siècle."

  [3] 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 annotation on the work’s matting reports that Vever acquired this work in 1934, likely at the Galerie Charpentier sale. This object was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942 (see note 2).

  [4] 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.

  [5] 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.

  [6] 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

• Exhibition History

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Albert Besnard

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  François Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh state, Avadh (Oudh), India

• 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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1720s, 1740s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Besnard, Albert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Lucknow, Avadh, Uttar Pradesh state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Henri Vever collection, Kings, queens, rulers, etc., Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Portraits, Falconry, Halo

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts