Kitab al-shifa bi-ta’rif huquq al-mustafa fi’l-hadith (Book on Islamic law, traditions and Muslim obligations) by Abu’l- Fadl Iyad b. Musa al-Yahsaba al-Andalusi (d.1149)

Manuscript; Kitab al-shifa bi-ta’rif huquq al-mustafa fi’l-hadith by Abu’l- Fadl Iyad b. Musa al-Yahsaba al-Andalusi; text: Arabic in thuluth and naskh scripts; 197 folios with one double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso-1 recto), colophon (fol. 197verso); seals: oval, tughra, and circular, illegible (fols.1recto,1 recto,197verso), inscription on flyleaf (fol.1 recto); standard page: four columns.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards with blind tooling on the exterior covers; the upper and lower covers both have a border of multiple fillets.

View right to left

Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Muhammad b. Hamdan al-Adhru'i al-Shafi'i
Historical period(s)
Mamluk period, 15th century
Medium
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 30.5 x 21.3 cm (12 x 8 3/8 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.26
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Egypt, Henri Vever collection, illumination, Islam, Islamic law, Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), naskh script, thuluth script
Provenance

?-1932
Indjoudjian Frères, method of acquisition unknown [1]

1932
Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art proche-orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" December 19, 1932, lot 135 [2]

?-1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [3]

1942-1947
Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [4]

1947-1986
Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [5]

From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [6]

Notes:

[1] See note 2. Indjoudjian Frères was an antiquities dealership based in Paris and New York, owned by the Armenian-born brothers Agop (1871-1951) and Meguerditch (1884-1927).

[2] See Hôtel Drouot "Objets d'art Proche-Orient des grandes époques ... provenant de la collection de Indjoudjian" [auction catalogue] (Paris : December 19, 1932), lot 135. The work is described as « MANUSCRIT RELIGIEUX 'CHIFA' écrit par Cheik-ul-Emam. Magnifiques feuillets enluminés d'ouverture. Art persan du XVe siècle."

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] 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 4.

[6] 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.

Research completed May 4, 2022.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Indjoudjian Freres
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Jeanne Louise Monthiers 1861-1947
Agop Indjoudjian 1871-1951
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Manuscript; Kitab al-shifa bi-ta'rif huquq al-mustafa fi'l-hadith by Abu'l- Fadl Iyad b. Musa al-Yahsaba al-Andalusi; text: Arabic in thuluth and naskh scripts; 197 folios with one double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso-1 recto), colophon (fol. 197verso); seals: oval, tughra, and circular, illegible (fols.1recto,1 recto,197verso), inscription on flyleaf (fol.1 recto); standard page: four columns.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in brown leather over paper pasteboards with blind tooling on the exterior covers; the upper and lower covers both have a border of multiple fillets.

Inscription(s)

Pencil notation on flyleaf, (fol. 1 recto) "Kitab al-shifa bi-ta'rif huquq al-mustafa fi'l-hadith written by the Shaykh, Imam of the universe, the learned al-qadi Abu'l-Fadl Iyad b. Musa al-Yahsaba. May God bless him and be pleased with him. Amen."
Colophon, (fol.197verso) "This auspicious book was completed by the hand of him who is in need of God the Exalted, Muhammad b. Hamdan al-Adhru'i al-Shafi'i, may God forgive him and all the Muslims. The date of the eighth of auspicious Shawwal....seven hundred [?]; Praise be to God alone, God bless our lord Muhammad and his family and his companions."
Seals: fol. 1recto, 197verso, oval (Bayazid II), tughra [illegible]; fol. 2 recto, circular: This, our record, speaks about you in truth [Sura al-Jathiya (the Crouching), sura 45: 29]; smudged tugra."

Last folio, back side, upper left, written in pencil script: No. 135 -- Manuscrit Religieux XVe siècle (L .... -- Bid 32) chifa, 6 page, écrit par Cheik-ul-Emam

Last folio, back side, upper right, written in pencil: No. 135

Published References
  • Collection de Indjoudjian: Arts du Proche-Orient des grandes epoques. Paris. .
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 52, pp. 40-41.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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