Folio from a Mihr-u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar Tabrizi (d. circa 1382); verso: Mihr feasting with Kayvan the King of Khwarazm; recto: text, Mihr playing lute and feasting with Kayvan

Detached folio from a bound copy of Mihr-u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar Tabrizi; text: Persian in black nasta’liq script; recto: text: Mihr playing lute and feasting with Kayvan, 2 columns, 11 lines; verso: illustration and text: Mihr feasting with Kayvan the King of Khwarazm; one of a group of 6: the manuscript (F1932.3a-b) and 5 detached folios are accessioned separately.
Border: The painting and the text are set in gold and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

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Maker(s)
Calligrapher: Ibrahim Khalil
Author: Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar of Tabriz
Historical period(s)
Shaybanid dynasty, Uzbek period, 1523-24 (930 A.H.)
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 18.3 x 11.6 cm (7 3/16 x 4 9/16 in)
Geography
Uzbekistan, Bukhara
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1932.7
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript folio

Keywords
king, Mihr, tambourine, Uzbek period (1500 - 1598), Uzbekistan, wine
Provenance

Before 1914-? 
Victor Goloubew (1878-1945), method of acquisition unknown [1] 

About 1914-1931
Ownership information unknown

By at least 1931-?
Kalebjian Frères, Paris and Cairo, method of acquisition unknown [2]

?-to at least 1932 
H. Kevorkian, New York, method of acquisition unknown [3] 

From 1932 
The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from H. Kevorkian, New York [4] 

Notes:

[1] See Philipp Walter Schulz, “Die Persich-islamische Miniaturmalerei” v.2 [book] (Leipzig: Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann, 1914), pls. 79. Schulz attributes the folio to the collection of Victor de Goloubew. Victor Goloubew was a Russian aristocrat who collected Persian, South-Asian, and European art. An archaeologist and engineer, he was among the first to use aerial photography to study Angkor Wat in Cambodia. He moved to Paris in 1904, and after losing his property in the Russian revolution he sold most of his collections.   

[2] See Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson and Basil Grey, “Persian Miniature Painting: Including a Critical Descriptive catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March, 1931” [book] (London: Oxford University Press, 1933), p. 123, no.106(c), pl. LXXIX-A. Entry states: “Four full-page miniatures. Lacquer binding. Lent by Kalebdjian [sic.], Paris”. Kalebjian Frères was an antiquities gallery in Paris operated by brothers Hagop and Garbis (1885-1954). They also maintained business in Cairo.

[3] Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), was a dealer and collector of Islamic and Persian works with eponymous galleries in New York and Paris. See March 17, 1932 letter to J.E. Lodge, copy in object file; see also note 4. 

[4] See H. Kevorkian invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, February 2, 1932, and marked approved on February 2, 1932.  

Research Completed December 14, 2022

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kalebjian Frères
Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962
Victor Goloubew 1878-1945

Description

Detached folio from a bound copy of Mihr-u Mushtari (The Sun and Jupiter) by Shams al-Din Muhammad Assar Tabrizi; text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: text: Mihr playing lute and feasting with Kayvan, 2 columns, 11 lines; verso: illustration and text: Mihr feasting with Kayvan the King of Khwarazm; one of a group of 6: the manuscript (F1932.3a-b) and 5 detached folios are accessioned separately.
Border: The painting and the text are set in gold and blue rulings on cream-colored paper.

Label

Among the most popular compositions in Persian manuscripts are those of elegantly dressed figures feasting in outdoor settings.  Inspired by the ancient Persian ritual of bazm--a form of celebration with wine and music--these paintings and drawings are used to illustrate a number of different literary concepts and ideas.

One such scene is included in a sixteenth-century copy of Mihr-u Mushtari (Mihr and Mishtari), a poem on love and friendship.  According to the poet Assar (died 1359), when Mihr helped to defeat the enemy of the king of Kharazm in eastern Iran, he was honored with a lavish feast in a lush and fragrant garden.  The painting's lyrical style, typical of late fifteenth-and early sixteenth-century Herat, presents a close visual parallel to the festive nocturnal gathering described by Assar.


Published References
  • Philipp Walter Schulz. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei: Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte Irans. 2 vols, Leipzig. pl. 79.
  • Franz Rosenthal. Four Essays on Art and Literature in Islam. The L.A. Mayer Memorial Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology, vol. 2 London. pl. 11.
  • Richard Ettinghausen, Ernst Kuhnel. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. 6 vols., London and New York, 1938 - 1939. vol. 3: p. 1871.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 28, p. 10.
  • Abolala Soudavar, Milo Cleveland Beach. Art of the Persian Courts: Selections from the Art and History Trust Collection. New York. cat. 11, p. 257.
  • Glenn D. Lowry, Milo Cleveland Beach, Elisabeth West FitzHugh, Susan Nemanzee, Janet Snyder. An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection. Washington and Seattle. p. 338.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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