Tuhfat al-ahrar (Gift of the free) by Jami (d. 1492)

Manuscript; Tuhfat al-ahrar (Gift of the free) by Jami; Persian in black, gold and white nasta’liq script; 59 folios with a sarlawh (folio 2verso), three paintings (fols. 1recto, 2verso, 25recto), dated colophon (folio 59recto); seals (fols. 1recto and 59recto); inscriptions (folio 1recto); standard page: 2 columns, 14 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript was in a lacquer-painted binding, the binding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Baba Mirak al-Katib al-Tashkandi
Historical period(s)
Uzbek period, 1558 (966 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (closed): 20.7 x 13.9 cm (8 1/8 x 5 1/2 in)
Geography
probably Uzbekistan, Bukhara
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.40
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
flower, flute, Henri Vever collection, nasta'liq script, tambourine, Uzbek period (1500 - 1598), Uzbekistan, WWII-era provenance
Provenance

From at least 1912
Tony Smet. [1]

To 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France. [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] 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. 399.

[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.

Previous Owner(s)

Tony Smet
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Francois Mautin French, born 1907

Description

Manuscript; Tuhfat al-ahrar (Gift of the free) by Jami; Persian in black, gold and white nasta'liq script; 59 folios with a sarlawh (folio 2verso), three paintings (fols. 1recto, 2verso, 25recto), dated colophon (folio 59recto); seals (fols. 1recto and 59recto); inscriptions (folio 1recto); standard page: 2 columns, 14 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript was in a lacquer-painted binding, the binding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever.

Inscription(s)

Fol.1 recto: "This Tuhfat al-ahrar of Mulla Abd al-Rahman Jami entered the library of his gracious highness the prince, the most glorious, the great Na'ib al-Sultana. May God prolong his life and glory... during the year [A.H.] 1260 [A.D. 1844-45]. One thousand two hundred and sixty of the Hegira, prayer upon his pure descendants. Written by Riza-Quli, the servant of his majesty."
Fol. 59 recto: "the book was finished at the end of the holy month of Muharram in the year [A.H.] 966 [A.D. November 1558] by the hand of the poor sinful Baba Mirak al-Katib al-Tashkandi. May God forgive his sins and disregard his faults.
Seals: square, fol. 1 recto: from the God of both worlds, gift of Mustafa Haravi [A.H.] 1180 [A.D. 1766-67]; oval (illegible), square, fol. 59 recto: from the God of both worlds, gift of Mustafa Haravi [?].

Published References
  • Rene Grousset. The Civilizations of the East. 4 vols., New York and London, 1931-1934. vol. 1: p. 363, fig. 275.
  • Thomas W. Lentz. Pictures for the Islamic Book: Persian and Indian Painting in the Vever Collection. vol. 1, no. 4 New York, Fall 1988. p. 22, 24, fig. 8.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 35, pp. 132-133.
  • 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. 181, pp. 155-156.
  • Marianna Shreve Simpson, Massumeh Farhad. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang: A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Washington and New Haven. p. 369.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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