Folio from the late Shah Jahan Album with two poems and a couplet from the Divan of Amir Shahi (died 1453)

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Mir Ali Haravi (died ca. 1550)

• Description

  Page of calligraphy from the late Shah Jahan Album; two poems and a couplet from the Divan of AmirShahi; right-hand half of a double-page composition; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; two columns; twelve lines of text; signed by Mir Ali Katib.

  Border: The text is set in gold and green rulings in a pink and turquoise inner frame with gold, floral and leaf scroll, and a gold outer frame, mounted on a brown-colored paperboard with floral cartouches. The text is embellished with horizontal illuminated rectangles and column dividers.

• Inscriptions

  Bottom page cartouche, “sinful Mir Ali katib, may God forgive him."

• Provenance

  ?-1942

  Henri Vever (1851-1942), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1942-1947

  Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [2]

  1947-1986

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [3]

  From 1986

  The National Museum of Asian Art, by purchased from Francois Mautin [4]

  Notes:

  [1] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever 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.

  [2] 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.

  [3] 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.

  [4] The Museum purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file. This work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

  Research updated on June 27, 2024

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Nasta’liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy (September 13, 2014 to May 3, 2015)

  Variations on a Script: Islamic Calligraphy from the Vever Collection (February 18 to September 16, 1990)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  François Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  Iran (calligraphy); India (borders)

• Credit Line

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

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1650s, 1640s

• Name

  Mautin, Francois Albert, Vever, Henri

• Place

  India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Henri Vever collection, Arts of the Islamic World, Illumination, Poetry

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts