Finispiece from a Qur’an, recto: text: sura 113:1-5, sura 114:1-6; verso: text: right-hand half of a double-page finispiece

Detached bifolio from a Qur’an; recto: Sura al-Falaq (the Daybreak) 113:1-5, Sura al-Nas (the Mankind) 114:1-6, recto begins with “bismillah”; verso: right-hand half of a double-page finispiece, detached from the facing folio (S1986.73.2); prayers and pious tracts following the last sura of the Qur’an, “al-du’a ba’d khatm al-Qur’an” (prayers after complete recitation of the Qur’an), verso begins with “al- du’a”; Arabic in black, white, blue and gold naskh and muhaqqaq scripts; headings in gold and blue muhaqqaq script and white thuluth script; vocalized in black; inscription; one column; 11 lines of text; one of a group of twenty folios.
Border: The recto is set in gold, red and blue rulings on cream-colored paper with marginal medallions; the verso is set in an illuminated border.

Historical period(s)
Ottoman period, Second half 16th century
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 35.5 x 23.4 cm (14 x 9 3/16 in)
Geography
Turkey
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1986.73.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Detached manuscript folio

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, illumination, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), prayer, Qur'an, sura 113, sura 114, Turkey, WWII-era provenance
Provenance

To 1910
Georges Demotte (1877-1923), Paris, France. [1]

From 1910 to 1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Georges Demotte, Paris, France on August 1, 1910. [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] See Glen D. Lowry and Susan Nemazee, "Appendix 2: Ledger of Acquisitions, 1894 and 1907-17" in A Jeweler’s Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1988), p. 230. See also 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 note 1.

[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
Georges Demotte 1877-1923
Francois Mautin 1907 - 2003

Description

Detached bifolio from a Qur'an; recto: Sura al-Falaq (the Daybreak) 113:1-5, Sura al-Nas (the Mankind) 114:1-6, recto begins with "bismillah"; verso: right-hand half of a double-page finispiece, detached from the facing folio (S1986.73.2); prayers and pious tracts following the last sura of the Qur'an, "al-du'a ba'd khatm al-Qur'an" (prayers after complete recitation of the Qur'an), verso begins with "al- du'a"; Arabic in black, white, blue and gold naskh and muhaqqaq scripts; headings in gold and blue muhaqqaq script and white thuluth script; vocalized in black; inscription; one column; 11 lines of text; one of a group of twenty folios.
Border: The recto is set in gold, red and blue rulings on cream-colored paper with marginal medallions; the verso is set in an illuminated border.

Inscription(s)

Recto: waqf (endowment)

Published References
  • Henry René d'Allemagne. Du Khorassan au pays des Backhtiaris, trois mois de voyage en Perse. Paris. vol. 4: p. 320.
  • 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. 30, p. 23.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Susan Nemanzee. A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. p. 42, fig. 17.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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