The <em>Shahnamah</em> by Firdausi
date: label: Date
content: late 18th century
label: Period
content: Mughal dynasty
notes: label: Court
content: Mughal Court
label: School/Tradition
content: Mughal school
label: Provenance
content: ?-1907
label: Provenance
content: Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914), method of acquisition unknown [1]
label: Provenance
content: 1907-1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Charles Lang Freer [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) was an officer in the British military and a collector of Indian paintings. Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, Hanna’s family later moved to London, where he was baptized in 1851. Beginning in 1857, Hanna served as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1889. After his retirement, he resided in London and Petersfield with his younger sisters. According to Hanna, he began collecting Indian paintings around the time of the Indian Rebellion (1857-1859). See letter from Henry Bathurst Hanna to Charles Lang Freer, dated April 10, 1908 [sic, 1907], p. 3, Box 17, Folder No. 10, Charles Lang Freer Papers, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See Charles Lang Freer art voucher no. 24, “For a collection of Indo-Persian pictures and manuscripts” from H. B. Hanna of Heathmere, Petersfield, Hants. [Hampshire], England, from October 1907, Box 114, Folder No. 12, Charles Lang Freer Papers, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery. This object is part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.
label: Provenance
content: Research updated April 19, 2024
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Bicentennial Exhibition: Near Eastern and Indian Art (December 15, 1975 to November 10, 1976)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna (1839-1914) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: India
topic: label: Topic
content: Shahnama
label: Topic
content: lute
label: Topic
content: Mughal dynasty (1526 - 1858)
label: Topic
content: nasta'liq script
label: Topic
content: illumination
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1907.277
objectType: label: Type
content: Manuscript
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink on paper with leather binding
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 33.7 x 21.6 cm (13 1/4 x 8 1/2 in)