Calligraphy from the Late Shahjahan Album

Object Details

• Calligrapher

  Mir Ali (died 1556)

• Description

  Album folio; Page of calligraphy from the late Shah Jahan album; right-hand half of a double-page composition, text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; four diagonal hemistiches; inscribed to Mir Ali; corner embellished with triangular illumination.

  Border: The central panel is set in green rulings followed by a calligraphic border containing Persian verses and an outer frame of geometric, animal, and bird motifs mounted on a brown paperboard.

• Inscriptions

  Bottom page cartouche, "Poor, sinful Ali."

• Provenance

  From at least 1912

  Georges Marteau. [1]

  To 1942

  Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France. [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 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. 401.

  [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.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Worlds within Worlds: Imperial Paintings from India and Iran (July 28 to September 16, 2012)

  Arts of Mughal India (2004) (August 21, 2004 to February 6, 2005)

  Other Worldly Visions: Persian and Indian Paintings from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (March 27, 1998 to May 10, 1998)

  The Jewel and the Rose: Art of Shah Jahan (May 4, 1997 to January 25, 1998)

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

  Persian and Indian Painting - Selections from a Recent Acquisition (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henri Vever (1854-1942)

  Georges Marteau

  Francois Mautin (1907-2003)

• Origin

  India

• 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, Marteau, Georges

• Place

  India

• Topic

  Art, Animals, Henri Vever collection, Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858), Arts of the Islamic World, Birds, Goat

• Culture

  Muslims

• Language

  Nasta?li-q script

• Object Type

  Manuscripts