Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d.1325); recto: left-hand half of a double-page Illumination; verso: text: Initial prayers on prime being of the divine presence

Object Details

• Description

  Detached bifolio from a dispersed copy of Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; headings in white, gold, red and blue; recto: left-hand half of a double-page illumination, two columns, ten lines; verso: text: Initial prayers on prime being of the divine presence, four columns, twenty one lines; one of a group of three: the binding (S1986.472) and folios (S1986.72.1-2) are accessioned separately.

  Border: The text is set in an illuminated border.

• Label

  Nizami's Khamsa inspired several subsequent poets to compose their own versions of the text. One of the most talented such poets was Amir Khusraw Dihlavi-meaning "from Delhi"-who also wrote in Persian. Born in Patiyal in northern India, Amir Khusraw excelled in both lyrical and epic poetry and enjoyed the patronage of several successive Indian rulers.

  This finely illuminated frontispiece and the gold-stamped covers formed part of the same copy of the Khamsa. Completed in sixteenth-century Iran, the covers were separated from the text sometime before the early twentieth century. The verses on the cover extol the qualities and attributes of books, considered a person's ideal companion.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Claude Anet (1868-1931), Paris, France. [1]

  From 1911 to 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Claude Anet, Paris, France on October 19, 1911. [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] Claude Anet was the pseudonym of writer Jean Schopfer. See 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. 400. See also Glen D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 2: Ledger of Acquisitions, 1894 and 1907-17" in A Jeweler’s Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 231.

  [2] See note 1.

  [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

  Love and Yearning: Mystical and Moral Themes in Persian Painting (August 30, 2003 to February 22, 2004)

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

  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)

  Claude Anet (1868-1931)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Qazvin, 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

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  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, Anet, Claude, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Qazvin

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts