Humayun Seated in a Landscape, from the Late Shah Jahan Album

Maker(s)
Artist: Payag (active ca.1591-ca.1658)
Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, Reign of Shah Jahan, ca. 1650
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 25.4 x 37 cm (10 x 14 9/16 in) H x W (image): 18.8 x 12.3 cm (7 3/8 x 4 13/16 in)
Geography
India
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.400
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Album, Manuscript
Type

Detached album folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, India, landscape, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Reign of Shah Jahan (1628 - 1658), WWII-era provenance
Provenance

From at least 1910
Georges Demotte (1877-1923), Paris, from at least 1910 [1]

To 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, to 1942 [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] The object is documented as having appeared in the collection of Georges Demotte by at least January 1910. 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. 410.

[2] See Glenn D. Lowry et al., An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 280, no. 333.

[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) and Custodian(s)

Henri Vever 1854-1942
Georges Demotte 1877-1923
Francois Mautin 1907 - 2003

Published References
  • John Guy, Jorrit Britschgi. Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900. New York. 43, 94.
  • Asok Kumar Das. Wonders of Nature: Ustad Mansur at the Mughal Court. India. .
  • Rene Grousset. The Civilizations of the East. 4 vols., New York and London, 1931-1934. vol. 1: p. 310, fig. 195.
  • Fredrik Robert Martin. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century. 2 vols., London. vol. 2: pl. 211.
  • The Hague. Catalogus tentoonstelling van islamische kunst. cat. 33, p. 23.
  • Fashion: The Whole Story. New York. p. 64.
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 114-115.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court., 2nd ed. Washington and Ahmedabad, India, 2012. cat. 21D, p. 116.
  • Michael Brand. The Vision of Kings: Art and Experience in India. Exh. cat. Canberra. cat. 95, p. 137.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 52, pp. 168-169.
  • 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. 333, pp. 272, 280.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Worlds within Worlds: Imperial Paintings from India and Iran
Google Cultural Institute
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