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Pen box (qalamdan)

Title	Pen box (qalamdan)
Author	Unknown
Publication Date:	1850
Publication Place	Iran (made) Isfahan (made) -
Subject	Lacquerware
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Length: 22.5 cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	1066:1-1875
Record ID	1066:1-1875
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.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Papier-mache; painted; varnished
Parçalar	Pen Case, Pen Case Part
Fiziksel açıklama	Oblong shaped pen box with rounded edges made of papier mache (pasteboard), painted and varnished on all sides with a finely painted decoration of alternating cusped medallions, each painted inside with polychrome and gold floral scrolls and arabesques. The cover of the box has a single lobed medallion painted inside with a courtly or elite woman dressed in European costume, flanked by a female attendant and an elderly bearded man clasping her bare breasts.

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Pen box (qalamdan)

Author Unknown

Publication Date 1850

Publication Place Iran (made) Isfahan (made) -

Subject Lacquerware

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Length: 22.5 cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID 1066:1-1875

Record ID 1066:1-1875

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.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Papier-mache; painted; varnished

Parçalar Pen Case, Pen Case Part

Fiziksel açıklama Oblong shaped pen box with rounded edges made of papier mache (pasteboard), painted and varnished on all sides with a finely painted decoration of alternating cusped medallions, each painted inside with polychrome and gold floral scrolls and arabesques. The cover of the box has a single lobed medallion painted inside with a courtly or elite woman dressed in European costume, flanked by a female attendant and an elderly bearded man clasping her bare breasts.