BIRD PERCHING ON ROCK
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
BIRD PERCHING ON ROCK

SIGNED MU'IN MUSAVVIR, ISFAHAN, AH 16 RAJAB 1097/29 JUNE 1684 AD

Details
BIRD PERCHING ON ROCK
SIGNED MU'IN MUSAVVIR, ISFAHAN, AH 16 RAJAB 1097/29 JUNE 1684 AD
Coloured drawing on paper, the bird perched on a pink rock against a leafy landscape, inscribed completed for the album on the 16 Rajab, 1097 to the left of the composition, and drawn by Mu'in Musavvir, may [God] forgive his sins on the right, mounted with gold speckled paper within gold margins on buff paper heightened with gold floral designs and arabesques, unframed, slight staining
Miniature 6 7/8 x 4in. (17.5 x 10.2cm.); Folio 13 x 8 5/8in. (33 x 21.9cm.)
Provenance
Sevadjian Collection sold Hotel Drouot, Paris, 20 March 1961, lot 45, illustrated on catalogue cover.
Anon sale, (Property of a Gentleman), Sotheby's London, 20 November 1986, lot 185, illustrated on catalogue cover, (to present vendor)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

The three inscriptions read: Dar ruz-e shanzdahom-e shahr-e rajab al-morajjab sana 1097 be-jehat-e moraqqa' be-etmam rasid (It was finished for the album on the sixteen of Rajab, 1097 (29 June 1684)'; mashshaqahu mo'in mosavver ghafara 'anhu zunubihi (It was drawn by Mu'in Musavvir, may [God] forgive his sins, the last word with a slight spelling error'; and huwa. be-jehat-e farzandi a'izzi khwaja ghiyath al-din 'ali mobarak bad (He (God). For my dear son Ghiyath al-Din 'Ali May it be blessed).

A comparable study of a bird signed by Mu'in's master, Reza Abbasi, sold in these Rooms in November 28th 1983, lot 125. The bird perches on a rock against a background very similar to this example. There is a group of bird drawings similar to these executed by Reza and his students, Mu'in and Sheikh 'Abbasi, all of which vary in date to around 1700.

Mu'in is however more commonly known for his studies of single, usually male figures as well as his manuscript illumination and illustration.

More from Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds

View All
View All