Harvard Art Museums > 30.2015: Album of Fingernail Artwork Albums Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Album of Fingernail Artwork , 30.2015,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/352105. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 30.2015 Title Album of Fingernail Artwork Classification Albums Work Type calligraphy Date 19th century Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Qajar period Culture Persian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/352105 Physical Descriptions Medium Paper; leather binding Dimensions 20 x 13.5 cm (7 7/8 x 5 5/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), loan; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. 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, Loan from A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar Object Number 30.2015 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This codex-format album consists of 19 relief images created by the pressure of the artist’s fingernail on paper (san`at-i nākhun). Specimens include calligraphic, floral, and figural compositions. Many of the pages form double-page spreads, as indicated in list of folios below. 1 Pink flyleaf, recto: owner’s inscription with date 1284 H / 1867-68 CE 2 Pink flyleaf (blank) 3 verso: Couplet of Persian poetry written diagonally in nasta`liq script Forms double page with 4 recto 4 recto: Persian Poetry written in shikasta script Forms double page with 3 verso 5 verso: Qur’an 25:35 (Aya al-Nur), beginning to middle of verse Forms double page with 6 recto 6 recto: Pious Text in Arabic Forms double page with 5 verso 7 recto: Undeciphered text in highly stylized script 8 verso: Vase with Flowers 9 verso: Qajar Youth Kneeling with Waterpipe Forms double page with 10 recto 10 recto: Qajar Man with Seated Against Cushion Forms double page with 9 verso 11 verso: Woman in European Garments Forms double page with 12 recto 12 recto: Man in European Garments Forms double page with 11 verso 13 verso: Rooster Forms double page with 14 recto 14 recto: Phoenix Forms double page with 13 verso 15 recto: Calligraphic Composition of Persian Poetry 16 verso: Three Partially Clad European Woman 17 verso: Bird Perched on a Flowering Prunus Branch 18 verso: A Man on Horseback Bending Downward to Grasp the Horns of a Gazelle Forms double page with 19 Recto 19 recto: An Emaciated Nag and a Fatted Cow Forms double page with 18 verso 20 recto: Floral design with Birds and Fish 21 recto: Seated Courtier Holding a Sword 22 Pink flyleaf (blank) Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
