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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2014.404
Title
Manuscript of the Qabusnama (Mirror for Princes) by 'Unsur al-Ma'ali Kay Kavus, with lacquer binding
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript
Date
1864
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
Period
Qajar period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/351920

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard (covers) Ink, gold, and colors on paper (text)
Dimensions
16.8 × 10.1 × 2.3 cm (6 5/8 × 4 × 7/8 in.)
Text area: 12 × 6 cm (4 3/4 × 2 3/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014.

Note:
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar
Accession Year
2014
Object Number
2014.404
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The manuscript opens with a fine illuminated heading. The text is copied in shikasta nasta`liq script in black ink, 14 lines to a page on very thin grayish paper. According to its colophon, the manuscript was copied in Rabi I 1281 H (August-September 1864) by Muhammad Hasan al-Sharif for Aqa Mirza 'Ali. The lacquer binding has on the outer cover a large diamond shaped medallion in the center, which harmonizes with the illumination in the manuscript. The inner cover is decorated with a rose branch over a yellowish ground.

Publication History

  • Massumeh Farhad and Mary McWilliams, ed., A Collector’s Passion: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer, Harvard Art Museums and Freer/Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution (Cambridge, MA/Washington, D.C., 2017), p. 161, ill.; p. 105, cat. 27

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu