Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi; text: Persian in black naskh and thuluth script with few sentences in white outlined in black; recto: text, one column, 25 lines, verso: right-hand half of a double-page illumination, detached from the facing folio (S1986.111), text, one column, 14 lines; one of a group of 12 folios. patron: Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din
Border: The recto and verso are set in red and black rulings mounted on cream-colored paper.
Inscriptions:
Illuminated shamsa: "for the flourishing library of the great lord, honorable minister, chief vizier of glorious Fars, possessor of generosity, source of liberality and virtue, the second judge in place, lover of the righteous, refuge to the poor and humble, glory of pilgrims to the house of God, the venerable Hajji Qiwam al-Dawla wa'l-Din Hasan. May God prolong his greatness, and may he have divine guidance for good deeds and mercy upon his ancestors. Mercy of God upon a faithful servant." [The Persian word "fal" follows the inscription.]
Provenance:
Charles Vignier (1863-1934), Paris, France. [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. 402.
[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:
Paintings from Shiraz (December 24, 1994 to August 27, 1995)
