Object Details
- Description
- Detached folio from a dispersed copy of Falnama (Book of omens); text: Persian in black nasta'liq script; recto: text, one column, eleven lines; verso: illustration: Expulsion of Adam and Eve; one of a group of twenty folios.
- Border: The painting and text have occupied the full width of the page.
- Label
- In this painting, Adam, whom Muslims consider the father of humanity and the first prophet, is depicted riding a serpent; Eve rides a peacock. According to tradition, Iblis, the Islamic counterpart to Satan, was intent on entering the Garden of Eden to foil Adam and Eve. By appealing to his vanity, Iblis enticed the peacock, the gatekeeper of paradise, to allow the serpent, then the most beautiful of all creatures, to enter Eden. Seated between the serpent's fangs, Iblis entered the garden and seduced Eve into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.
- Provenance
- ?-1942
- Henri Vever (1851-1942), method of acquisition unknown [1]
- 1942-1947
- Jeanne Louise Monthiers (1861-1947), bequest of Henri Vever [2]
- 1947-1986
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003), bequest of Jeanne Louise Monthiers and Henri Vever [3]
- From 1986
- The National Museum of Asian Art, by purchased from Francois Mautin [4]
- Notes:
- [1] An accomplished French jeweler and collector, Henri Vever 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. This object was in Vever's collection at the time of his death in 1942.
- [2] Upon Henri Vever's death on September 25, 1942, his wife, Jeanne Louise Monthiers inherited the object. See exhibits F and G of Agreement of Purchase and Sale of the Henri Vever Collection, January 9, 1986, copy in object file.
- [3] 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 object is part of that collection. See exhibits F and G as cited in note 3.
- [4] The Museum purchased the entirety of the collection from Francois Mautin on January 9, 1986. See purchase agreement, copy in object file. This work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.
- Research updated on June 27, 2024
- Collection
- Arthur M. Sackler Collection
- Exhibition History
- Falnama: The Book of Omens (October 24, 2009 to January 24, 2010)
- Hunt for Paradise: Courts Arts of Safavid Iran, 1501-1576 (October 16, 2003 to June 27, 2004)
- A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection (November 20, 1988 to April 30, 1989)
- Persian and Indian Painting - Selections from a Recent Acquisition (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Henri Vever (1854-1942)
- Francois Mautin (1907-2003)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler
- mid 1550s
- Period
- Safavid period
- Accession Number
- S1986.251
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Manuscript
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 59.7 x 44.9 cm (23 1/2 x 17 11/16 in)
- Origin
- Qazvin, Iran
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- peacock
- dragon
- Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
- angel
- Falnama
- Iran
- Adam
- Eve
- Arts of the Islamic World
- Henri Vever collection
- Record ID
- fsg_S1986.251
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye36505416a-5871-46ce-a5a6-e263f560cf4a
