Artists' Tools19th century

Pen Box with Persian Woman of Letters

c. 1850-1885

Artists

Mubarak Mirza ibn MahmudArtist

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in vertical format with three cartouches containing images of an elegantly dressed Persian woman embracing her beloved (upper), writing a letter (central), and caressing a small child (lower). The front and back show the same woman reclining against cushions and reading a book. The base and compartment are decorated with 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

3.4 × 3.7 × 21.7 cm (1 5/16 × 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.

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