Pen Box with the Virgin and Child

Artists

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in vertical format with an oblong cartouche containing the Virgin and Child, a white-bearded man, and a winged putto. The rest of the top and the sides are covered with densely painted illumination. The base and outer surfaces of the compartment are painted with a gold arabesque on a red background. Inside the compartment, multicolored flowers are painted on a gold background.

Dimensions

3.2 × 3.6 × 21.8 cm (1 1/4 × 1 7/16 × 8 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014. 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.