Khamsa (Quintet) by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d.1325)

Manuscript; Khamsa by Amir Khusraw Dihlawi; Persian in black nasta’liq script; 198 folios with four sarlawhs (verso: 1,30,109,147), four dated colophons (29recto, 78recto,108recto and 146recto), and 7 paintings (41verso, 55recto, 70recto, 92recto, 134recto, 161verso and 187verso) attributed to Siyavush Beg or a close follower; seals (fols. 1recto, and 198recto); standard page: four columns, 22 lines of text; headings in red.
Binding: The manuscript was originally bound in papier-mâché, the bounding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever.

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Maker(s)
Artist: Siyavush Beg
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, November 1564 (Rabi' II 972 A.H.)
Medium
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 23.3 x 17 cm (9 3/16 x 6 11/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Qazwin
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.51
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Bahram Chubina, Henri Vever collection, Iran, Khamsa, Khusraw, percussion instrument, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), WWII-era provenance
Provenance

From at least 1931
Octave Homberg, Paris, from at least 1931 [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 Octave Homberg by at least June 1931. 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. 400.

[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), pp. 174-176, no. 205.

[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)

Octave Homberg
Henri Vever 1854-1942
Francois Mautin French, born 1907

Description

Manuscript; Khamsa by Amir Khusraw Dihlawi; Persian in black nasta'liq script; 198 folios with four sarlawhs (verso: 1,30,109,147), four dated colophons (29recto, 78recto,108recto and 146recto), and 7 paintings (41verso, 55recto, 70recto, 92recto, 134recto, 161verso and 187verso) attributed to Siyavush Beg or a close follower; seals (fols. 1recto, and 198recto); standard page: four columns, 22 lines of text; headings in red.
Binding: The manuscript was originally bound in papier-mâché, the bounding has been removed, the manuscript is now bound in leather over paper pasteboards stamped with the name of Vever.

Inscription(s)

Folio 198 recto, indicated that the manuscript belonged in A.H. 1235 (A.D. 1819-20) to the Beglarbegi of Qarabagh; seals: (flyleaf, oval) Muhammad Husayn b. Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad; (square) The sinful slave Muhammad Husayn; (fol.198 recto, square); His hopeful slave Nuqli Mammad[?] 34; say: He is God, the one!; God, the eternally besought of all!; He begetteth not nor was begotten; And there is none comparable unto him; [From Sura CXII: 1-4].

Published References
  • Octave Homberg. Publication title unknown. cat. 90, p. 48.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. cat. 38, pp. 138-139.
  • 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. 205, pp. 174-176.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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