صفحهٔ آغازین از خمسهٔ نظامی

FS-7224_03

Frontispiece to a Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami (d.1209)

Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper

H x W: 28.2 x 17.8 cm (11 1/8 x 7 in)

Francois Mautin (1907 - 2003)

Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861 - 1947)

Henri Vever (1854-1942)

Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936)

Philipp Walter Schulz

Mirza Muhammad

?- ?

Mirza Muhammad Ali-Naqi

[1]

Before 1914-?

Philipp Walter Schulz (1864-1920), method of acquisition unknown [2]

From at least 1913-1923

Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl (1880-1936), method of acquisition unknown [3]

1923

Sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Charles Vignier, "Liquidation de Biens Meyer-Riefstahl: Ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de séquestre de guerre, première vente," April 23-24, 1923, lot 130 [4]

Likely from 1923-1942

Henri Vever (1854-1942), method of acquisition unknown [5]

1942-1947

Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [6]

1947-1986

Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [7]

From 1986

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery purchased from Francois Mautin [8]

Notes:

[1] See undated note inscription on flyleaf in manuscript. See also Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach with Roya Marefat and Wheeler M. Thackston, "An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection" [exhibition catalogue] (Washington, D.C. and Seattle: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and University of Washington Press, 1986), 217-219.

[2] See Philipp Walter Schulz, "Die persisch-islamische Miniaturmalerei" [book] (Leipzig: Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann, 1914), pl. 76-78. Schulz likely sold the manuscript to Meyer Riefstahl before the text was published in 1914 (see note 3). Philipp Walter Schulz was a wealthy scholar that focused his studies on Islamic book arts. In 1900, the Museum of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbemuseum) in Leipzig displayed Schulz's personal collection; this exhibition began a life-long affiliation between Schulz and the museum.

[3] Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl was a German-American art historian specializing in medieval Islamic art. At the beginning of World War I, Meyer Riefstahl relocated from Paris, France to New York City, where he eventually became a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts.

Meyer Riefstahl left his art collection in Paris and the French government sequestered the collection as an "Enemy Alien Asset." The collection was sold in two auctions, the first in 1923 and the second in 1925. This manuscript was in Meyer Riefstahl's collection by 1913, see "Georges Marteau and Henri Vever, "Miniatures persanes" [exhibition catalogue] (Paris: Bibliothèque d'Art et Archéologie, 1913), no. 90, plate LXXI. Meyer Riefstahl likely purchased the manuscript from Schulz before Schulz published the text cited in note 2 and when Marteau and Vever were finalizing their publication.

[4] See Hôtel Drouot, Charles Vignier, "Liquidation de Biens Meyer-Riefstahl: Ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de séquestre de guerre, première vente," [auction catalogue] (Paris: Hôtel Drouot, April 23-24, 1923) lot 130. The manuscript is described as "Khamsa de Nizami complet, c'est-à-dire contenant les six poèmes. Écrit en nastaliq de premier ordre. Pas de nom de calligraphe." A clipping from this auction catalogue is glued inside the book cover of the manuscript.

[5] 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.

It is likely that Vever purchased the manauscript from the Meyer-Riefstahl sequestration sale (see notes 2 and 3), as in the interior of the book cover, there is a note "H. Vever -- Avril 1923." Vever

owned the manuscript by 1931, when he loaned it for exhibition. See "International Exhibition of Persian Art, 7 January 1931 to 7 March 1931" [exhibition catalogue] (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1931), no, 718E. The manuscript is described as "MANUSCRIPT: Nizami's Khamsa copied partly in 915 A.H./1510 A.D. and partly in 934 A.H./1527 A.D. in the shrine of Maulana Nizami al-din Ibrahim. Two unwans, 27 miniatures." This manuscript was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.

[6] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the manuscript. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.

[7] 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 manuscript is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 6.

[8] 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 completed May 4, 2022.

Possibly Isfahan, Iran

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

April 21, 1509 (19 Dhu'l-Hijja 915 A.H.) and 1527-1528 (934 A.H.)

Safavid period

Manuscript

Safavid period (1501 - 1722)

Iran

Arts of the Islamic World

Henri Vever collection

Smithsonian Institution