Artists' Tools18th century

Pen Box with Flowers and Birds

c. 1850-1875

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in horizontal format. The top and sides are similarly decorated with birds and flowers on black background. On the base a gold arabesque is painted on a red background. The inscription referencing the late 18th-century artist Aqa Muhammad Zaman provides a date earlier than the floruit for the maker of the pen box itself (third quarter 19th century), so should probably be understood as homage to the celebrated lacquer painter.

Classification

Artists' Tools

Medium

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

Century

18th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

3.7 × 3.9 × 24.7 cm (1 7/16 × 1 9/16 × 9 3/4 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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