Equestrian portrait of Muhammad Shah from the Impey Album

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 2
IIIF

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At A Glance

  • Period

    ca. 1730
  • Geography

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

    Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W (overall): 46.9 x 32.6 cm (18 7/16 x 12 13/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    S1986.434
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S1986.434

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

    Stamps: blue-edge Oct, No431 x'ed; Petit.
  • Inscriptions

    Verso, margin, Amal-i ustad Daswanth.
    Verso, margin, Amal-i ustad Daswanth.
  • Provenance

    From at least 1932
    Albert Besnard, from at least 1932 [1]
    To 1942
    Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, to 1942 [2]
    From 1942 to 1986
    Family member, Paris and Boulogne, France, by inheritance from Henri Vever, Paris and Noyers, France [3]
    From 1986
    Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from a family member, Paris and Boulogne, France [4]
    Notes:
    [1] Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 7: Chart of Recent Provenance" in An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, Glenn D. Lowry et al (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 411.
    [2] See Glenn D. Lowry et al., An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 297, no. 346.
    [3] See the Agreement for the Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection of January 9, 1986, Collections Management Office.
    [4] See note 3.
  • 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)
    Francois 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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