Artists' Tools19th century

Pen Box with Flowers, Birds, and Butterflies in Grisaille Technique

c. 1875-1900

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in horizontal format. The top and sides are densely painted in black on a tan background with birds, flying insects, and a variety of flowers. The base bears a gold arabesque on a red background.

Classification

Artists' Tools

Medium

Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard

Period

Qajar period

Century

19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

3.9 × 3.8 × 22.7 cm (1 9/16 × 1 1/2 × 8 15/16 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.

Related Artworks

Artists' Tools

Pen Box with European Woman in Medallion and Floral Sprays

Unknown Artist, 1880-1900

Oil paint, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard

19th century

Artists' Tools

Pen Box with Flowers and Birds

Unknown Artist, c. 1850-1900

Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard

19th century

Artists' Tools

Pen Box with Amorous Couples and Portrait Medallions

Ahmad ibn Najaf `Ali, 1864-1865

Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard

19th centuryPersian

Artists' Tools

Katagami Textile Stencil with Hare and Geometric Medallion and Stylized Plant Design

Unknown Artist, Late Edo-Meiji period, 19th-early 20th century

Chūban (medium-sized) minogami (mulberry bark paper) treated with persimmon juice and cut using the "dōgubori" (punch-carving) and "tsukibori" (thrust-carving) techniques, with "ito-ire" (silk-web) reinforcement

19th-20th centuryJapanese

Artists' Tools

Pen Box with Erotic Scenes in Medallions on Floral Ground

Muhammad `Ali, c. 1830-1850

Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer over brass layers on pasteboard

19th century

Artists' Tools

Katagami Textile Stencil with Fawn Spot (Kanoko) and Bush Clover Design

Unknown Artist, Late Edo-Meiji period, 19th-early 20th century

Chūban (medium-sized) minogami (mulberry bark paper) treated with persimmon juice and cut using the "tsukibori" (thrust-carving) technique, with "ito-ire" (silk-web) reinforcement

19th-20th centuryJapanese

Artists' Tools

Katagami Textile Stencil with Butterfly and Fern Design

Unknown Artist, Late Edo-Meiji period, 19th-early 20th century

19th-20th centuryJapanese

Artists' Tools

Pen Box with Intertwining Foliate and Floral Vines

Razi Sani Humayun, c. 1880-1910

Opaque watercolor, gold, and lacquer on pasteboard; punch work

19th-20th century

Artists' Tools

Woodblock for replicating Painting Manual by Noted Shanghai Artists (Haishang mingren huagao)

Unknown Artist, c. 1885

Ink on carved wood

19th centuryChinese

Artists' Tools

Stencil

John Singer Sargent, 19th-20th century

Cut brown cardboard

19th-20th centuryAmerican

Artists' Tools

Woodblock for replicating Painting Manual by Noted Shanghai Artists (Haishang mingren huagao)

Unknown Artist, c. 1885

Ink on carved wood

19th centuryChinese

Artists' Tools

Katagami Textile Stencil with Circular Bamboo Design

Unknown Artist, Late Edo-Meiji period, 19th-early 20th century

Chūban (medium-sized) minogami (mulberry bark paper) treated with persimmon juice and cut using the "tsukibori" (thrust-carving) technique, with "ito-ire" (silk-web) reinforcement

19th-20th centuryJapanese