Artists' Tools18th-19th century

Pen Box with a Visit to a Sage

c. 1850-1875

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in horizontal format with vignettes of a master and his disciples, a group of three women in European dress, and pages attending a horse. The sides are decorated with elaborate architectural scenes, interspersed by medallions containing bust portraits of young men and women. On the base a grapevine is painted in gold on a black background.

Classification

Artists' Tools

Medium

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

Period

Qajar period

Century

18th-19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

3.9 × 4.1 × 24.9 cm (1 9/16 × 1 5/8 × 9 13/16 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.