Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami (d.1209)

Manuscript; Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; Persian in black nasta’liq script; illuminated headings in blue; 366 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso, 2 recto), 5 sarlawhs (fols. 30,116,174, 236, 320 verso) and 16 paintings (15 verso, 49 verso, 59 recto, 77 recto, 89 recto, 127 recto, 137 verso, 149 verso, 165 verso, 189 verso, 203 verso, 233 verso, 266 recto, 280 recto, 325 verso, 339 recto); standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in gilded black leather over paper pasteboards with block-stamped designs on the exterior covers. The doublures are of gold block- stamping and leather filigree over a blue paper ground.

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Historical period(s)
Safavid period, circa 1550-1560
Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 31.3 x 19.8 cm (12 5/16 x 7 13/16 in) H x W (open): 31.8 x 38.1 cm (12 1/2 x 15 in)
Geography
Iran, Shiraz
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1986.43
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Henri Vever collection, Iran, Khamsa, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance

From at least 1923
Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936). [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] The object is documented as having appeared in the collection of R. M. Riefstahl by at least April 1923. 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. 400.

[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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Henri Vever 1854-1942
Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl 1880-1936
Francois Mautin 1907-2003

Description

Manuscript; Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami; Persian in black nasta'liq script; illuminated headings in blue; 366 folios with a double-page frontispiece (fols. 1 verso, 2 recto), 5 sarlawhs (fols. 30,116,174, 236, 320 verso) and 16 paintings (15 verso, 49 verso, 59 recto, 77 recto, 89 recto, 127 recto, 137 verso, 149 verso, 165 verso, 189 verso, 203 verso, 233 verso, 266 recto, 280 recto, 325 verso, 339 recto); standard page: 4 columns, 21 lines of text.
Binding: The manuscript is bound in gilded black leather over paper pasteboards with block-stamped designs on the exterior covers. The doublures are of gold block- stamping and leather filigree over a blue paper ground.

Published References
  • Dr. Rudolph Meyer-Riefstahl. Objets d'art anciens. Premiere vente. 1923 Apr. 23-24. Sequestre Meyer-Riefstahl. Paris, April 23-24, 1923. cat. 30.
  • Rene Grousset. The Civilizations of the East. 4 vols., New York and London, 1931-1934. vol. 1: p. 337, fig. 258.
  • Ladan Akbarnia, Francesca Leoni. The Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam. Exh. cat. London and New Haven. cat. 25, pp. 72-73.
  • 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. cat. 253, pp. 224-225.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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