Back to Search

Box

Title	Box
Publication Date:	1850
Publication Place	Iran (made) -
Subject	Woodwork
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Height: 15.1 cm, Width: 23.2 cm, Length: 33.3 cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	861:1-1889
Record ID	861:1-1889
Library Location	Middle East Section
Date	1850
Notes	The fine openwork patterning can be found on a variety of Iranian wood objects, including spoons, the handles of dervish bowls, boxes, and Quran stands. Many of the Iranian wooden objects during the nineteenth century were manufactured in the large town of Abadeh, which was known for its fine wood production. This box would have been made from a variety of carving tools, the most unusual one being a file or saw, known in Persian as a marpa. The lattice work pattern would have been achieved by first drilling the pattern with a fiddle drill, before removing the remaining wood with a coarser marpa, and finally piercing the remaining wood with a very fine marpa. The process was time consuming and required both a steady and delicate hand.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Carved pearwood
Parçalar	Box, Lid
Fiziksel açıklama	Rectangular shaped wooden box, carved with along three sides with panels of dense floral sprays, flanked by a fine row of stylised flowers carved in deep relief. On the other side, a horizontal scene depicts men and women on horseback approaching a modestly clad woman seated in a tent in a hilly landscape. The lid is carved with a horizontal composition of a lion attacking a man who lays sprawled against the ground; the panel is surrounded by similarly carved dense floral sprays. The box stands elevated upon four carved feet.

View in source Victoria and Albert Museum Victoria and Albert Museum - Ottoman library catalog search

Victoria and Albert Museum

Box

Publication Date 1850

Publication Place Iran (made) -

Subject Woodwork

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Height: 15.1 cm, Width: 23.2 cm, Length: 33.3 cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID 861:1-1889

Record ID 861:1-1889

Library Location Middle East Section

Date 1850

Notes The fine openwork patterning can be found on a variety of Iranian wood objects, including spoons, the handles of dervish bowls, boxes, and Quran stands. Many of the Iranian wooden objects during the nineteenth century were manufactured in the large town of Abadeh, which was known for its fine wood production. This box would have been made from a variety of carving tools, the most unusual one being a file or saw, known in Persian as a marpa. The lattice work pattern would have been achieved by first drilling the pattern with a fiddle drill, before removing the remaining wood with a coarser marpa, and finally piercing the remaining wood with a very fine marpa. The process was time consuming and required both a steady and delicate hand.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Carved pearwood

Parçalar Box, Lid

Fiziksel açıklama Rectangular shaped wooden box, carved with along three sides with panels of dense floral sprays, flanked by a fine row of stylised flowers carved in deep relief. On the other side, a horizontal scene depicts men and women on horseback approaching a modestly clad woman seated in a tent in a hilly landscape. The lid is carved with a horizontal composition of a lion attacking a man who lays sprawled against the ground; the panel is surrounded by similarly carved dense floral sprays. The box stands elevated upon four carved feet.