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Pen box (qalamdan)

Title	Pen box (qalamdan)
Publication Date:	1850
Publication Place	Iran (made) Isfahan (made) -
Subject	Lacquerware
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Length: 23.5 cm, Width: 4.9 cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	767:1-1876
Record ID	767:1-1876
Library Location	Middle East Section
Date	1850
Notes	The primary function of a pen box (qalamdan) was as a writing implement - made of papier mache, wood or other materials, including precious metals â intended to hold a number of tools associated with the art and act of writing, including reed pens, an inkwell, liqah (a cotton wool substance used to absorb excess ink), a penknife, a qatâzan (a flat resting board made of horn), a whetstone, a small spoon, and a pair of scissors. These accessories were considered essential elements for a scribe. The box that kept these elements was deemed, by association, as important as the person who handled its contents, with the quality of the boxâs decoration directly reflecting the status of the scribe or patron. Pen boxes were carried by penmen of all ranks, often tucked into the shawls tied around their waists, symbolising a badge of their trade. So esteemed was the pen box that even Shahs commissioned them; these rare examples are confirmed by their inscriptions. The earliest specimens of this type date from the reign of Shah Sulayman Safavi (1664-95), but later Qajar examples commissioned by members of high bureaucracy also exist throughout the nineteenth century. Although this particular pen box does not bear the inscription of the artist Ya Shah-I Najaf (âO King of Najaf!â), the detail of decoration and its style strongly resembles that of the known Qajar artist, or perhaps another from his circle. Aqa Najaf, as he is also known, was responsible for lacquer pieces produced sometime between the 1810s and the 1860s, with a style that formed a bridge between the works of the later 18th century and the long reign of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (1848-1896), during which the sons of Najaf Ali continued to play a leading role in lacquer production.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Lacquered papier-mache
Parçalar	Pen Case, Pen Case Part
Fiziksel açıklama	Oblong shaped pen box made of lacquered papier-mache and painted with a vertically disposed composition on the top of the cover with three portrait busts of European dressed women within scalloped edged medallions, set against a polychrome floral background with birds. On the sides are Europeanized figural scenes divided by oval portrait busts of young women. The base is dark red, decorated in gold with birds amongst a fruiting vine.

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Pen box (qalamdan)

Publication Date 1850

Publication Place Iran (made) Isfahan (made) -

Subject Lacquerware

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Length: 23.5 cm, Width: 4.9 cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID 767:1-1876

Record ID 767:1-1876

Library Location Middle East Section

Date 1850

Notes The primary function of a pen box (qalamdan) was as a writing implement - made of papier mache, wood or other materials, including precious metals â intended to hold a number of tools associated with the art and act of writing, including reed pens, an inkwell, liqah (a cotton wool substance used to absorb excess ink), a penknife, a qatâzan (a flat resting board made of horn), a whetstone, a small spoon, and a pair of scissors. These accessories were considered essential elements for a scribe. The box that kept these elements was deemed, by association, as important as the person who handled its contents, with the quality of the boxâs decoration directly reflecting the status of the scribe or patron. Pen boxes were carried by penmen of all ranks, often tucked into the shawls tied around their waists, symbolising a badge of their trade. So esteemed was the pen box that even Shahs commissioned them; these rare examples are confirmed by their inscriptions. The earliest specimens of this type date from the reign of Shah Sulayman Safavi (1664-95), but later Qajar examples commissioned by members of high bureaucracy also exist throughout the nineteenth century. Although this particular pen box does not bear the inscription of the artist Ya Shah-I Najaf (âO King of Najaf!â), the detail of decoration and its style strongly resembles that of the known Qajar artist, or perhaps another from his circle. Aqa Najaf, as he is also known, was responsible for lacquer pieces produced sometime between the 1810s and the 1860s, with a style that formed a bridge between the works of the later 18th century and the long reign of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (1848-1896), during which the sons of Najaf Ali continued to play a leading role in lacquer production.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Lacquered papier-mache

Parçalar Pen Case, Pen Case Part

Fiziksel açıklama Oblong shaped pen box made of lacquered papier-mache and painted with a vertically disposed composition on the top of the cover with three portrait busts of European dressed women within scalloped edged medallions, set against a polychrome floral background with birds. On the sides are Europeanized figural scenes divided by oval portrait busts of young women. The base is dark red, decorated in gold with birds amongst a fruiting vine.