Holy man with prince and attendants

Object Details

• Description

  Detached album folio; Holy man with prince and attendants; inscriptions on the border read: (on the left margin) portrait of Shah Qasim Anwar, and (on the right margin) Baysunqur Mirza.

  Borders: The painting is set in gold and black rulings surrounded by a blue inner frame and a gold outer frame, mounted on gold-sprinkled paperboard.

• Marks

  Old matting: 307 B written in pencil

  Old matting: H. Vever written in black ink and underlined

  Old matting: 4 written in blue pencil and underlined

  Old matting: 4 written in blue pencil and underlined

• Inscriptions

  Right margin, Baysunqur [sic] Mirza; left margin, tasvir shah Qasim Anwar. "Portrait of Shah Qasim Anwar."

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Possibly Georges Demotte (1877-1923), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  ?-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely 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] See annotation “Est. Dem” on the verso of the work, which suggests the work was estimated and possibly sold by Georges Demotte to Vever. 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. Vever had the work in his collection at the time of his death.

  [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 January 22, 2024.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  François Mautin (1907-2003)

  Georges Demotte (1877-1923)

• Origin

  Northern India

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1910s, 1890s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Demotte, Georges, Vever, Henri

• Place

  India

• Topic

  Prayer beads, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Prince, Art, Animals, Holy man, Henri Vever collection, Horses, Attendant

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings