Folio from a Divan (Collected poems) by Sultan Ahmad Jalayir (d.1410); recto: Nomad camp; verso: text

Object Details

• Provenance

  From at least 1912-at least 1926

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933), purchased from unidentified dealer in Constantinople [1]

  About 1926-1931

  Ownership information unknown

  From at least 1931-1932

  Jacob Hirsch, Ph.D, New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  From 1932

  The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dr. Jacob Hirsch, New York [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See “Miniatures from the Period of Timur in Manuscripts of the poems of Sultan Ahmad Jalair” [book] (Vienna: printed for the author, 1926), p. 13, pl. V. See also p. 27, where Martin recounts buying the manuscript in Constantinople in November 1912. It is unclear when, or to whom, he sold it. Martin was a Swedish diplomat, scholar, collector, art historian and author. Martin documented his journeys in numerous books.

  [2] 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), p. 63 no. 36. The manuscript is “Lent by Jacob Hirsch, Geneva”, and “The last eight pages have the borders filled with line drawings and touched with gold and light colour. (These were shown separately at the Exhibition, mounted and framed.)”. Dr. Jacob Hirsch (1874-1955) was a collector of coins, medals, and classical art, as well as a dealer of archaeological objects. He had an eponymous gallery in New York, as well as businesses in Switzerland and Paris. See purchase file F1932.29 for J.E. Lodge letter to Dr. J. Hirsch dated April 9, 1932, wherein Lodge writes that he would come to New York to see the manuscript, implying it is already in the U.S. See also January 4, 1932 letter from M. Aga-Oglu, of the Detroit Institute of Arts, to Dr. Hirsch, noting that he had studied the manuscript and was enclosing it, with the miniatures, for return to Hirsch.

  [3] The Freer Gallery of Art paid Dr. Jacob Hirsch in installments, the first on August 1, 1932, and the last on July 3, 1933, and marked approved on June 28, 1932. See object file for copy of invoices.

  Research completed December 16, 2022

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  From the Hand of Mani (January 18, 1985 to July 5, 1985)

  Nastaliq Calligraphy (September 23, 1982 to January 20, 1984)

  The Brush of the Masters: Drawings from Iran (October 14, 1978 to May 30, 1979)

  Near Eastern Art (June 15, 1973 to May 7, 1975)

  2500 Years of Persian Art—Calligraphy (February 10, 1972 to June 15, 1973)

  Near Eastern Art--Calligraphy (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

  Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts (May 1, 1945 to September 25, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian Paintings and Ceramics (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)

  International Exhibition of Persian Art (January 7 to March 7, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933)

  Dr. Jacob Hirsch (1874-1955)

• Origin

  Iran or Iraq

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s, 1300s

• Name

  Dr. Jacob Hirsch, Martin, Fredrik Robert

• Topic

  Divan, Art, Animals, Jalayirid dynasty (1340 - 1432), Horses, Cows, Arts of the Islamic World, Sheep, Poetry

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians, Iraqis

• Object Type

  Manuscripts