Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d.1325)

Object Details

• Artist

  Siyavush Beg

• Description

  Manuscript; Khamsa by Amir Khusraw Dihlawi; Persian in black nasta'liq script; 198 folios with four sarlawhs (verso: 1,30,109,147), four dated colophons (29 recto, 78 recto,108 recto and 146 recto), and 7 paintings (41verso, 55 recto, 70 recto, 92 recto, 134 recto, 161verso and 187verso) attributed to Siyavush Beg or a close follower; seals (fols.1 recto, and 198 recto); standard page: four columns, 22 lines of text; headings in red.

  Binding: The manuscript was originally bound in papier-mâché, the bounding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever.

• Inscriptions

  First flyleaf, bottom of page: "52" circled, written in pencil

  First flyleaf,, top of page, left corner: "9" underlined in pencil

  Second flyleaf, top of page: "rb bxx-" written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, top of page: "No 90 Vente Octave Homberg Juin 1931" written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, "Daté 1562 à Shiraz rb Bpx [underlined]" written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, "Les cinq poèmes lyriques que Khosrau de Dehli (+1325) écrivit à l'imitation de ceux de Nizami" written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, "7 miniatures" written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, "11" circled, written in blue pencil over "12" circled written in pencil

  Second flyleaf, "14" circled, written in pencil, erased

  Last flyleaf, "Octave Homberg" written in pencil

  Folio 198 recto, indicated that the manuscript belonged in A.H. 1235 (A.D. 1819-20) to the Beglarbegi of Qarabagh; seals: (flyleaf, oval) Muhammad Husayn b. Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad; (square) The sinful slave Muhammad Husayn; (fol.198 recto, square); His hopeful slave Nuqli Mammad[?] 34; say: He is God, the one!; God, the eternally besought of all!; He begetteth not nor was begotten; And there is none comparable unto him; [From Sura CXII: 1-4].

  Folio 198 recto, indicated that the manuscript belonged in A.H. 1235 (A.D. 1819-20) to the Beglarbegi of Qarabagh; seals: (flyleaf, oval) Muhammad Husayn b. Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad; (square) The sinful slave Muhammad Husayn; (fol.198 recto, square); His hopeful slave Nuqli Mammad[?] 34; say: He is God, the one!; God, the eternally besought of all!; He begetteth not nor was begotten; And there is none comparable unto him; [From Sura CXII: 1-4].

• Provenance

  Possibly to 1907

  Possibly Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. (1844-1907), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  Likely 1907-1931

  Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Jr. (1876-1941), possibly by inheritance from his father, Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. [2]

  1931

  Sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, "Catalogue des tableaux anciens : objets d'art et de haute curiosité européens et orientaux ... la collection de Octave Homberg," June 3, 2, & 5, 1931, lot 90 [3]

  1991-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely purchased at the Galerie Georges Petit sale in 1931[4]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [5]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [6]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [7]

  Notes:

  [1]Octave Homberg Senior was a Censor of the Bank of France before becoming the Director of the Société Générale, one of the oldest banks in France. He amassed a diverse collection of fine arts, which included medieval European sculpture,Islamic manuscripts, and objects. Upon his death, he bequeathed the majority of his collection to his son, Octave Homberg Jr. The rest of the collection was sold via auction at Galerie Georges Petit on May 11-16, 1908, in Paris, France.

  [2] Octave Homberg Jr. was a French diplomat, banker, writer, and collector. As one of France's foremost financiers, he served as the French financial agent in the United States and part of the Anglo-French Commission. In the early 1930s, Homberg experienced/suffered financial trouble and in 1931 he sold most of his art collection, mostof which he had inherited from his father. It is is possible that Homberg Senior bequeathed this manuscript to his son, Homberg Jr., see note 1.

  [3] Galerie Georges Petit, "Catalogue des tableaux anciens : objets d'art et de haute curiosité européens et orientaux ... la collection de Octave Homberg" [auction catalogue] (Paris, June 3-5, 1931), lot 90. See annotations from this auction on recto of last folio in manuscript.

  [4] 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. This work was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.

  [5] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the work. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.

  [6] 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 work is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 5.

  [7] The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file.

  Research completed June 26, 2022.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Octave Homberg

  Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. (1844-1907)

• Origin

  Qazwin, Iran

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

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• Date

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• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Homberg, Octave, Homberg, Octave Marie Joseph Kérim, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Qazwin

• Topic

  S?afavid dynasty, 1501-1736, Art, Percussion instrument, Bahram Chubina, Henri Vever collection, Khamsa, Arts of the Islamic World, Khusraw

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts