1896-1908
Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top and sides are covered in polychrome arabesque designs in cloisonné enamel. The base bears the stamp of the Brothers Grachev manufactory in St. Petersburg. The pen box is in the same style and technique as the pen 2014.369.
3.8 × 4 × 24 cm (1 1/2 × 1 9/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
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.
Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, copper alloy particles, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard
18th centuryCarved wood
JapaneseKoban (small-sized) minogami (mulberry bark paper) treated with persimmon juice and cut using the "dōgubori" (punch-carving) technique, with "ito-ire" (silk-web) reinforcement; with ink
19th-20th centuryJapaneseOpaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard
19th century