Pen Box with Muhammad Shah Qajar and Nur `Ali Shah

Artists

Description

Rectangular box with lift-off lid secured by a chain. The exterior of the lid is decorated in vertical format with a portrait of Muhammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834 48) seated on a chair like throne. The inside of the lid bears an image of a young dervish standing in an interior, with a staff and flowers. An inscription identifies the figure as Nur `Ali Shah (d. 1797), leader of the Ni’mat’ullahi Sufi order. The outside of the box is decorated with hunting scenes. On the base, a gold arabesque is painted on a red background.

Dimensions

5.2 × 6.3 × 27.7 cm (2 1/16 × 2 1/2 × 10 7/8 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.