Mihr u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar (d. circa1382)

Manuscript; Mihr u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script with headings in gold, red and blue; 284 bound folios and five detached folios with 1 shamsa (folio1 recto), 1 sarlawh (folio 2 recto), 4 paintings, one dated colophon (folio 284recto), and 3 seals (folio 284recto); standard page, 2 columns, 12 lines; one of a group of 6: folios F1932.4-8 of the same bound manuscript have been detached and accessioned separately.
Binding: The manuscript is in a lacquer-painted binding with floral designs, scalloped medallion and corner-pieces. The doublures are of brown lacquer ground with single stemmed narcissus.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Ibrahim Khalil
Author: Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar of Tabriz
Historical period(s)
Shaybanid dynasty, Uzbek period, 1523 (929 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W x D: 26.5 x 17.4 x 3 cm (10 7/16 x 6 7/8 x 1 3/16 in)
Geography
Uzbekistan, Bukhara
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1932.3a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Mihr, Mushtari, Uzbek period (1500 - 1598), Uzbekistan
Provenance

Before 1914-? 
Victor Goloubew (1878-1945), method of acquisition unknown [1] 

About 1914-1931
Ownership information unknown

By at least 1931-?
Kalebjian Frères, Paris and Cairo, method of acquisition unknown [2]

?-to at least 1932 
H. Kevorkian, New York, method of acquisition unknown [3] 

From 1932 
The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from H. Kevorkian, New York [4] 

Notes:

[1] See Philipp Walter Schulz, “Die Persich-islamische Miniaturmalerei” v.2 [book] (Leipzig: Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann, 1914), pls. 72-80. Schulz attributes the folio to the collection of Victor de Goloubew. Victor Goloubew was a Russian aristocrat who collected Persian, South-Asian, and European art. An archaeologist and engineer, he was among the first to use aerial photography to study Angkor Wat in Cambodia. He moved to Paris in 1904, and after losing his property in the Russian revolution he sold most of his collections.   

[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. 123, no.106, pls. LXXIX-LXXX. Entry states: “Four full-page miniatures. Lacquer binding. Lent by Kalebdjian [sic.], Paris”. Kalebjian Frères was an antiquities gallery in Paris operated by brothers Hagop and Garbis (1885-1954). They also maintained business in Cairo.

[3] Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), was a dealer and collector of Islamic art with eponymous galleries in New York and Paris. See March 17, 1932, letter to J.E. Lodge, copy in object file; see also note 4. 

[4] See H. Kevorkian invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, February 2, 1932, and marked approved on February 2, 1932.  

Research Completed December 14, 2022

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kalebjian Frères
Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962
Victor Goloubew 1878-1945

Description

Manuscript; Mihr u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script with headings in gold, red and blue; 284 bound folios and five detached folios with 1 shamsa (folio1 recto), 1 sarlawh (folio 2 recto), 4 paintings, one dated colophon (folio 284recto), and 3 seals (folio 284recto); standard page, 2 columns, 12 lines; one of a group of 6: folios F1932.4-8 of the same bound manuscript have been detached and accessioned separately.
Binding: The manuscript is in a lacquer-painted binding with floral designs, scalloped medallion and corner-pieces. The doublures are of brown lacquer ground with single stemmed narcissus.

Inscription(s)

"Written by the sinful slave who hopes for the mercy of God the magnificent king, Ibrahim [son of] Khalil, may [God] pardon their sins and cover their faults, in Bukhara in the year 929 [A.D. 1522-23]."

Published References
  • Philipp Walter Schulz. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei: Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte Irans. 2 vols, Leipzig. vol. 2: pls. 72-80.
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. vol. 3: p. 1871.
  • Sheila R. Canby. Persian Painting. Eastern Art Series London. pp. 46-48, fig. 26.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. p. 123, no. 106, pls.LXXIX, LXXX.
  • Abolala Soudavar, Milo Cleveland Beach. Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection. New York. pp. 208-209.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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