Folio from a Manafi' al-Hayawan (Usefulness of animals) by Ibn Bakhtishu (d.1058); recto: text and illustration: Three doves in a rocky landscape; verso: text
Detached folio from a dispersed copy of a Manafi' al-hayawan (Usefulness of animals) by Ibn Bakhtishu; text: Persian in black and red naskh script with title in blue kufic script; recto: illustration and text: Three doves in a rocky landscape, 12 lines; verso: text: 13 lines; one of a group of 6 folios.
Provenance:
?-at least 1914
Hagop Kevorkian, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]
From 1944
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York [2]
Notes:
[1] See Charles of London, “The Kevorkian Collection: Including Objects Excavated under His Supervision” [exhibition catalog] (New York: Galleries of Charles of London, March-April 1914), no. 26, “Owls” and no. 8, “Pigeons”. Catalog number 3 includes thirty-one miniatures which are described as being from a manuscript of “Manafi al-Hayawan.” While the manuscript does not contain a date, owing to the absence of several folios, it was assigned to the 13th century.
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) was an archaeologist, connoisseur, and one of the most significant dealers of the first half of the twentieth century. Kevorkian had eponymous galleries in New York and Paris, specializing in Islamic, Armenian, Ancient, and Classical art, where he sold works to galleries and private collectors around the world. In 1952 he established the Kevorkian Fund, which remains active and supports scholarship focusing on art history and archaeology, museum collections, lectures, and fellowships.
[2] See object file for copy of H. Kevorkian invoice to the Freer Gallery of Art, dated September 21, 1944, and approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian on March 8, 1944.
Research updated October 2, 2023
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Metalwork (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)
Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)
Untitled Exhibition, Persian Manuscripts (May 5, 1933 to September 22, 1947)
