Folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: Physician and an ill man; verso: text

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Abdallah ibn al-Fadl

• Description

  Detached folio from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides; text: Arabic in black naskh script, headings in red; recto: illustration and text, Physician and an ill man, one column, nine lines of text; verso: text, one column, thirteen lines; one of a group of nine folios.

• Marks

  (recto of folio) in pencil, bottom left “168” (?)

  (verso of folio) bottom right “86”

  (verso of folio) in pencil, bottom left “20540 Est. posxx Date 1222”

  (on matte clipping) in pencil, “Vever 85”; “nos 5150[?] 20.540 Provenant d’un manuscrit sur la médicine intitulé Dioscorides et daté 1222 posxx Est Dem”

  (on matte clipping) in ink, “Dioscorides d’un manuscrit daté de 1222 20540 EST. D. 3 personnages POSXXI- le N. 20538 a 2 personnages EST 23XXX voir FR Martin 85”

  (sticker) in blue ink, “2”

  (sticker) printed in red “Chenue Emballeur 5, rue de la Terrasse, Paris ”; in pencil “M. H. Vever”

  (sticker) printed in red “Chenue Emballeur 5, rue de la Terrasse, Paris ”; in pencil “M. H. Vever”

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Aya Sofya, Istanbul [1]

  By at least 1908-no later than 1912

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933), method of acquisition unknown [2]

  By at least 1912

  Georges Demotte, Paris, method of acquisition unknown [3]

  From at least 1912-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), purchased from Georges Demotte, Paris, November 30, 1912 [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] See Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdad” [journal] “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5, (1942): p. 20, “It has been known for some time that these miniatures were formerly part of a Dioscorides manuscript containing the two last books of De materia medica and the treatises De venenis and De iis quae virus ciaculantur animalibus. The manuscript was until recently preserved in the Hagia Sophia Library and is now in the Top Kapi Saray in Istanbul.” See also Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach “An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection” [book] (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 55, and footnote 6, “The two pages in the Vever Collection are among at least thirty-one illustrated folios that were removed at the turn of this century from a lavish copy of the Materia Medica dated June-July 1224. The corpus of the text – containing 202 folios from the fourth and fifth books, two other treatises by Dioscorides, and a work by Hunayn b. Ishaq – is in the Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul.” Footnote 6 cites the source as “Aya Sofya no. 3703. Formerly in the Aya Sofya Kütüphanesi, Istanbul.” Additionally, see Ernst J. Grube, “Materialien zum Dioskurides Arabicus”. In “Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst,” edited by Richard Ettinghausen [book] (Berlin: Gebr. Mann), no. VI, pp. 172-178. On page 172, he writes, “Dreißig Blatt mit Miniaturen aus dieser Handschrift befinden sich in fünfzehn verschiedenen öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen Europas und Amerikas. Nur eine einzige Miniatur mit einer figürlichen Darstellung ist in der Handschrift verblieben (Fol. 2r).”

  In the mid twentieth century, some scholars mentioned that the manuscript had been moved from the Aya Sofya Library to the Topkapi Palace.

  Thereafter it went to the Süleymaniye Library, which has been the national repository for manuscripts in Türkiye since 1918. This painting was removed from the manuscript at an undetermined time before its transfer to the Topkapi Palace. See note 2.

  [2] Amongst Martin’s peers, it was recognized that the folios were part of the manuscript known as Aya Sofya 3703, and that Martin was the first owner of the detached folios. See F.R. Martin, “The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century [book] (London: Bernard Quaritch, Sr., 1912), vol. 1, p. 111. In the “List of Painters”, Martin wrote the following entry: “Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, who painted: the miniatures in the Dioscorides Manuscript, part of which is in the possession of the author, dated A.H. 619 (A.D. 1222).” As early as 1929, Martin is cited as having been the owner of the Dioscorides’ folios: “Leaves from this manuscript, which once belonged to F. R. Martin, are now scattered all over the world”, in M. S. Dimand “Dated Specimens of Mohammedan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Part II: Manuscripts and Miniature Paintings,” “Metropolitan Museum Studies” vol. 1, no. 2 (May 1929): 208. And in Hugo Buchthal, “Early Islamic Miniatures from Baghdad,” “The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery”, vol. 5 (1942): p. 20, “If we look for kindred works of art, it is at once evident that the famous Dioscorides miniatures, formerly belonging to Dr. F. R. Martin, are most related to our ‘Hippiatrica’ manuscript”. For a publication citing Martin’s ownership, see F.R. Martin “A History of Oriental Carpets Before 1800” [book] (Vienna: Printed for the author, with subvention from the Swedish government, in the I. and R. State and Court Printing Office, 1908), fig. 14, and F.R. Martin, “The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century [book] (London: Bernard Quaritch, Sr., 1912), vol. 2, p. 1, pl. 7a; see also Ernst Kühnel, „Miniaturmalerei im Islamischen Orient“[book] (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer Verlag, 1922), pl. 4. Additionally, see Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson and Basil Grey, “Persian Miniature Painting: Including a Critical Descriptive catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March, 1931” [book] (London: Oxford University Press, 1933), cat. no. 14, “For other reproductions, see” and refers the reader to the aforementioned manuscripts by Martin and Kühnel. Fredrik Robert Martin was a collector, connoisseur, author, and Swedish diplomat assigned to Istanbul for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during a time of significant political and social unrest across the Ottoman Empire. It remains unclear how Martin acquired the folios.

  [3] See entry for November 30, 1912, which lists the purchase of two separate miniature Dioscorides from Demotte, in the Account Ledger in the Henri Vever Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives: FSA_A1988.04_2.2. Copy in object file.

  [4] See Henry Corbin, Rémy Cottevieille-Giraudet, Jean David-Weill, Eustache de Lorey, et Georges Salles, “Les Arts de l’Iran, L’Ancienne Perse, & Bagdad: Exposition Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, 1938” [book] (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1938), cat. no. 10.2, p. 9. See also See Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson and Basil Grey, “Persian Miniature Painting: Including a Critical Descriptive catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March, 1931” [book] (London: Oxford University Press, 1933), cat. 14b, p. 27. This is incorrectly described as “Two figures under a tree.” 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.?See also note 4.

  [5] Upon Henri Vever’s death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the book cover. 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 book cover is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 4.

  [7] 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. See also See Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Beach with Roya Marefat and Wheeler M. Thackston, “An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection” [exhibition catalogue] (Washington, D.C. and Seattle: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and University Washington Press, 1986), pp. 55-56, pl. 65. The catalogue incorrectly identifies the mark in pencil on the recto of the folio as “174”.

  Research updated March 17, 2023

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Islamic Representations of the Classical Past (February 14 to May 13, 2018)

  L'Age d'or des sciences arabes (October 25, 2005 to March 19, 2006)

  A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Baghdad, Iraq

• 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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  900s, 800s, 700s, 1100s, 1200s, 1000s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Demotte, Georges, Martin, Fredrik Robert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Baghdad

• Topic

  Medicine, Art, Henri Vever collection, De Materia Medica, Arts of the Islamic World

• Culture

  Muslims, Abbasids, Iraqis

• Object Type

  Manuscripts