Pen Box with Elderly Saints

Artists

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in vertical format with three cartouches. In the center, an elderly man, perhaps a saint, clasps his hands, with a white church at his back. Above, a bearded figure raises his hand in supplication, with a domed church in the background. Below, a white-bearded man holds a book. The sides are similarly composed, with figural scenes divided into three sections. On the front side, the central section features a carriage scene; on the back side, the central section features a seascape with sailing ships. Rural and hunting scenes fill the left and right edges. The ends carry medallions with male and female portrait busts.

Dimensions

3.9 × 4.2 × 23.6 cm (1 9/16 × 1 5/8 × 9 5/16 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.