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Catalog Data

Calligrapher:
Sayyid-Ali al-Hamdi (Hafiz al-Qur'an)  Search this
Medium:
Ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensions:
H x W: 23.5 x 41.1 cm (9 1/4 x 16 3/16 in)
Type:
Manuscript
Origin:
Turkey
Date:
January 1715 (Muharram 1127 A.H.)
Period:
Ottoman period
Description:
Manuscript; Book of prayers; Arabic in black naskh script, colophon in tawqi' script; illuminated headings in white; 197 folios with 6 double-page illumination (fols.173-178 recto and 172-177 verso),1 sarlawh (folio 1 verso), 1 unwan (folio 10 verso); colophon (folio 195 recto); standard page: 1 column, 7 lines.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in leather over paper pasteboards with a gilt medallion, cornerpieces, and doublures of leather decorated with gilt. The envelop flap has a border and surface identical to that on the upper and lower covers.
Inscriptions:
Folio 195 recto: Written by the poor slave Sayyid-Ali al- Hamdi, known as Hafiz al-Qur'an, in the beginning of the holy month of Muharram in the year [A.H.] one thousand hundred and twenty-seven [A.D. January 1715].
old matting: clipping from auction catalogue, Hôtel Drouot, "Beaux Manuscrits -- Arabes, Turcs et Persans," May 9, 1899, lot 3 and description
old matting: clipping from auction catalogue, annotation "Est. D. rpox" in pencil
old matting: clipping from auction catalogue, annotation "H. V. 1899" in pencil,
Provenance:
?-1899
Unknown collector, mode of acquisition unknown [1]
1899
Sale, Hôtel Drouot, "Beaux Manuscrits -- Arabes, Turcs et Persans," May 9, 1899, lot 3 [2]
1899-1942
Henri Vever (1854-1942), purchased at Hôtel Drouot [3]
1942-1947
Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [4]
1947-1986
Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [5]
From 1986
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [6]
Notes:
[1] See note 2.
[2] See Hôtel Drouot, "Beaux Manuscrits -- Arabes, Turcs et Persans," [auction catalogue] (Paris, May 9, 1899), lot 3. The sale is of a private collection and does not identify the owner.
[3] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever (1854-1942) 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. Vever acquired this work at the Hôtel Drouot on May 9, 1899, which he attended with fellow collector and friend, Albert Besnard (1849-1934). See Henri Vever, Diary, 1899-1899, Box 1, Folder 5, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, FSA.A.1988.04. Vever reports: "Afternoon at the Hôtel Drouot [at a] sale of Persian miniatures. I am next to Besnard, and we chat a bit. He has bought a few pieces and me too ... there are so many beautiful ones." The work remained in Vever's collection at the time of his death.
[4] 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.
[5] 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.
[6] The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file.
Research updated June 5, 2023
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
Intimate Rituals and Personal Devotions: Spiritual Art Through the Ages (August 12, 2000 to January 14, 2001)
The Divine Word of Islam (July 4, 1993 to January 2, 1994)
A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)
Previous custodian or owner:
Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947)
Henri Vever (1854-1942)
Topic:
prayer  Search this
Ottoman period (1307 - 1922)  Search this
naskh script  Search this
Turkey  Search this
Arts of the Islamic World  Search this
Henri Vever collection  Search this
Credit Line:
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Accession Number:
S1986.482
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3b7964303-d4e1-4251-9de0-cd91a4bd1ea2
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_S1986.482