Sufi riding a leopard from a Bustan (Orchard) by Sa'di (1291)

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Object Details

Calligrapher

Ahmad al-Husayni al-Mashhadi

Description

Manuscript; Bustan (Orchard) by Sa'di; Persian in black and gold nasta'liq script; 46 folios with 1 sarlawh (folio 1 verso), 1 dated colophon (folio 46 recto), 2 paintings (fols.4, and 14 recto), and illuminated headings; inscriptions: fols. 14, 17, 46, 53 recto; standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.

Binding: The manuscript is bound in Turkish red leather over paper pasteboards with gold tooling on the exterior covers and doublures of marbled paper. The envelop flap has a border of multiple fillets with a scalloped medallion at the tip of the flap.

Inscriptions

Fols. 14, 17 recto: on doorways: "oh bestower; oh opener of the gates."

Provenance

To 1912

Arsène Aftandil. [1]

From 1912 to 1942

Henri Vever (1854-1942), Paris and Noyers, France, purchased from Arsène Aftandil on June 22, 1912. [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. 399. See also 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. 232.

[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

Le Chant du monde: L'Art de l'Iran safavide, 1501-1736 (October 05, 2007 to January 07, 2008)

Love and Yearning: Mystical and Moral Themes in Persian Painting (August 30, 2003 to February 22, 2004)

Crushed Lapis and Burnished Gold: The Art of Illumination (June 9 to December 8, 1991)

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)

International Exhibition of Persian Art (January 7 to March 7, 1931)

Previous custodian or owner

Henri Vever (1854-1942)

Arsène Aftandil

François Mautin (1907-2003)

Credit Line

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

Date

1525 (931 A.H.)

Period

Safavid period

Accession Number

S1986.36

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Manuscript

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions

H x W: 26.9 x 17.6 cm (10 9/16 x 6 15/16 in)

Origin

Iran

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

marbling

Safavid period (1501 - 1722)

Bustan