Artists' Tools19th century

Pen Box with European Woman in Medallion and Floral Sprays

1880-1900

Description

Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in vertical format. A central medallion contains a three-quarter length portrait of a European woman in a blue dress. Above and below, bouquets float on a bright red ground. The sides each bear an elongated cartouche with a wooded landscape with a lake. Scrollwork in bright gold ornaments all sides of the pen box. The pen box is likely a product of the Lukutin manufactory in Danilkovo.

Classification

Artists' Tools

Medium

Oil paint, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard

Century

19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

3.5 × 3.7 × 22.7 cm (1 3/8 × 1 7/16 × 8 15/16 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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