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

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Mahmud Mudhahibb

• Description

  Manuscript; Tuhfat al-ahrar (Gift of the free) by Jami; Persian in black nasta'liq script; headings in gold and red; 78 folios with a signed double-page frontispiece (folio 1 verso, 2 recto), one sarlawh (folio 2 verso), and a dated colophon, inscriptions and seals (folio 78 verso); standard page: two columns, 13 lines of text.

  Binding: The manuscript is bound in leather over paper pasteboards with gold block-stamped exterior covers; the doublures are of gold block-stamped and leather filigree over a multicolored paper ground. The envelop flap has a border identical to that on the upper and lower covers; the pages of the manuscript are mounted in multicolored borders decorated with gold floral designs and marginal medallions.

• Inscriptions

  Front flyleaf, upper page: "8" underlined and written in pencil

  * Front flyleaf, upper page: "No. 88 Oct. Homberg Juin 1931" written in pencil

  * Front flyleaf, upper page: "trxxx 4 %" underlined and written in pencil

  * Front flyleaf, upper page: "tia.xxx" underlined twice, written in pencil

  * Front flyleaf, upper page: "Tohfat al- ahrar -- Boukhara en 1545" written in pencil

  * Front flyleaf, upper page : " 'Le présent fait aux hommes pieux'" written in pencil

  Front flyleaf, upper page: "5 miniatures tsprax" written in pencil

  Front flyleaf, upper page, affixed to right corner: octagonal sticker with blue boarder and "tiapx" written in black ink and "2019" written in blue ink

  Front flyleaf, upper page right corner: round white sticker with three digits, the first two illegible, the last one is 4

  Front flyleaf, upper page affixed to right corner: round white sticker with "9" written in black ink

  Front flyleaf, upper page affixed to right, near spine: oval sticker with scalloped edge, "Chenue Emballeur, 5 Rue de la Terrasse, PARIS" printed in red, "M. H. Vever" written in venter in pencil (Chenue Emballeur is a well-known art moving company that "served kings to commoners"

  Verso of last folio, white paper glued to upper left: "88" stenciled in black ink and in pencil: " Octave Homberg"; "Henri Vever"; "1931"; "Boukhara vers 1545"; and "5 miniatures"

  Exterior of binding affixed to spine, circular, white sticker: "H 88" written in black ink

• Provenance

  Possibly to 1907

  Possibly Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. (1844-1907), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  Likely 1907-1931

  Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Jr. (1876-1941), possibly by inheritance from his father, Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. [2]

  1931

  Sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, « Catalogue des tableaux anciens : objets d'art et de haute curiosité européens et orientaux ... la collection de Octave Homberg, : Juin 3, 2, & 5, 1931, lot 88 [3]

  1931-1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), likely purchased at Galerie Georges Petit Sale in June 1931 [4]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [5]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [6]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [7]

  Notes:

  [1] Octave Homberg Senior was a Censor of the Bank of France before becoming the Director of the Société Générale, one of the oldest banks in France. He amassed a diverse collection of fine arts, which included medieval European sculpture and Islamic manuscripts and objects. Upon his death, he bequeathed most of his collection to his son, Octave Homberg Jr. The rest was sold

  at auction at Galerie Georges Petit on May 11-16, 1908 in Paris, France.

  [2] Octave Homberg Jr. was a French diplomat, banker, writer, and collector. As one of France's foremost financiers, he served as the French financial agent in the United States and part of the Anglo-French Commission. In the early 1930s, Homberg suffered financial troubles and in 1931 sold most of his art collection, the majority of which he had inherited from his father. It's possible that Homberg Senior bequeathed this manuscript to his son, Homberg Jr., see note 1.

  [3] Galerie Georges Petit, "Catalogue des tableaux anciens : objets d'art et de haute curiosité européens et orientaux ... la collection de Octave Homberg" [auction catalogue] (Paris, June 3-5, 1931), lot 92. See annotations from this auction on the verso of last folio.

  [4] 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. As indicated by annotations on the interior of the manuscript, Vever purchased this manuscript from at the Galerie Georges Petit auction in June 1931 (see note 3). This work was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.

  [5] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the work. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.

  [6] 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 work is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 5.

  [7] 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 completed on June 26, 2022.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Art of Painting a Story: Narrative Images from Iran (December 22, 1991 to May 10, 1992)

  A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Octave Marie Joseph Kérim Homberg Sr. (1844-1907)

  Octave Homberg (1876-1941)

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)

  François Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1530s, 1550s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Homberg, Octave, Homberg, Octave Marie Joseph Kérim, Monthiers, Jeanne Louise, Vever, Henri

• Place

  Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Topic

  Art, Henri Vever collection, Palace, Arts of the Islamic World, Uzbek period (1500 - 1598)

• Culture

  Muslims

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts