Shah Jahan enthroned with Mahabat Khan and a Shaykh, from the late Shah Jahan Album

Detail of a pattern
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IIIF

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At A Glance

  • Period

    1629-1630
  • Geography

    India
  • Material

    Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, mounted on board
  • Dimension

    H x W (overall): 37 x 25.2 cm (14 9/16 x 9 15/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    S1986.406
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S1986.406

Object Details

  • Artist

    'Abid (India, active 1604-1645)
  • Court

    Mughal Court
  • School/Tradition

    Mughal school
  • Description

    Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Padishahnama (the history of the first decade of Shah-Jahan's reign); Shah Jahan enthroned with Mahabat Khan and Shaykh; inscribed to Abid, brother of Nadiruzzaman of Mashhad; dated.
    Border: The painting is set in gold and black rulings followed by an inner frame of gold floral scroll and adorned with flowers in the margins, mounted on colored paperboard.
  • Marks

    Old matting, interior of front: round sticker, Henri Vever printed in dark blue and pencil, no 24
    Old matting, interior of front: Expos. Arts Mus. Le Haye 1927, square sticker printed in red
    Old matting, interior of front: Paris Expositions Douanes (customs sticker)
    Mounting, front: 9, written in pencil
    Mounting, back: aspxx, written in pencil
    Mounting, back: H Vever, written in pencil
    Old matting, exterior backing: Réception chez Chah Djehan XVII ͤ siècle, written in pencil, underlined
    Old matting, exterior backing: written in pencil:
    •On lit au dessus du fronton du trône, dans un petit cartouche ovale : Chah Dejhan (ce cartouche est formé par une couronne d’or)
    •L’inscription qui se trouve au centre de la composition au dessous du tabouret d’or, est la signature de l’artiste = Abed (underlined), frère de Nadder-ol-Zeman, a terminé (cette peinture) en l’année … (date illisible sauf un 2)
    •Le deuxième personnage de droite en partant de l’empereur porte sur son bouclier l’inscription : portrait de Seiyed Mozaffer Khan.
    Old matting, exterior backing: Vever 298, written in pencil
    Old matting, exterior backing: Collection Henri Vever (underlined) Provenant du Recueil de Demotte, written in black ink
    Old matting, exterior backing: (as pxx), written in pencil
    Old matting, exterior backing: (as pxx), written in pencil
  • Inscriptions

    Below footstool, Ragam-i 'abed brathar-i Nadirzzaman-i Mashhadi dar seneh [2] be etmam resid."
    "By Abid, brother of Nadiruzzaman of Mashhad, completed in the year II [A.H. Shahjahani, A.D. 1629-30]."
    On shield to right, Shabih-i Seyyed Muzaffar Khan.
    On shield to right, Shabih-i Seyyed Muzaffar Khan.
  • Provenance

    ?-1910
    Georges Demotte (1877-1923), method of acquisition unknown [1]
    1910-1942
    Henri Vever (1854-1942), purchased from Georges Demotte [2]
    1942-1947
    Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [3]
    1947-1986
    Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [4]
    From 1986
    Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [5]
    Notes:
    [1] This work is likely one of a group of seven miniatures that Henri Vever purchased from Demotte in January 1910. Vever describes the group as "7 miniatures indo-persanes." See Henri Vever Account Ledger, January 1910, FSA A1988.042.2, from Henri Vever Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Georges Demotte was a collector and dealer of Islamic and medieval European art. He had galleries in Paris and New York City.
    [2] 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. This object was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.
    [3] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the object. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.
    [4] 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 object is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.
    [5] 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 updated June 6, 2023.
  • Collection

    Arthur M. Sackler Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India (March 13 to June 24, 2018)
    Imperial Portraits from the Mughal Courts from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (June 30 to September 22, 2002)
    The Jewel and the Rose: Art of Shah Jahan (May 4, 1997 to January 25, 1998)
    Arts of Mughal India (1992) (May 24 to December 6, 1992)
    A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)
    Persian and Indian Painting - Selections from a Recent Acquisition (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
    Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)
    Henri Vever (1854-1942)
    Georges Demotte (1877-1923)
  • Origin

    India
  • Credit Line

    Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
  • Type

    Manuscript
  • Restrictions and Rights

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