Two Persian noblemen

Detached album folio; Two Persian nobleman; marginal calligraphy with nineteen couplets from the Diwan of Hafiz; text in Persian, black nasta’liq script.
Border: The painting is set in gold rulings surrounded by calligraphic panels in the margin, a red floral scroll and a narrow band of black and gold outer frame, mounted on a brown-colored paperboard.

Historical period(s)
Mughal dynasty, mid-17th century
Movement
Mughal Court
School
Mughal School
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 42.1 x 28.3 cm (16 9/16 x 11 1/8 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
S1986.424
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Album, Painting
Type

Detached album folio with painting

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, India, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), sword
Provenance

From at least 1911
Claude Anet (1868-1931), Paris, from at least 1911 [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 Claude Anet by at least October 19, 1911. 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. 411. Claude Anet was the pseudonym of writer Jean Schopfer.

[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. 324, no. 380.

[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
Claude Anet 1868-1931
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Detached album folio; Two Persian nobleman; marginal calligraphy with nineteen couplets from the Diwan of Hafiz; text in Persian, black nasta'liq script.
Border: The painting is set in gold rulings surrounded by calligraphic panels in the margin, a red floral scroll and a narrow band of black and gold outer frame, mounted on a brown-colored paperboard.

Published References
  • 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. 380, p. 324.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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