Lot 315: A QAJAR LACQUERED PAPER-MACHE PEN BOX QALAMDAN DEPICTING SUFI MASTERS, PERSIA, 19TH CENTURY

A Persian lacquered paper-mache pen box of traditional elongated form with rounded ends and a sliding internal drawer. The top of the lid is decorated with three oval medallions set against a dark ground embellished with fine gold scrolling floral and foliate vines. The upper medallion features a portrait of a bearded elder holding a book, identified by a painted Persian inscription as Mir Ma’sum Ali Shah. The central medallion depicts a younger figure playing a stringed instrument, identified by inscription as Nur Ali Shah and accompanied by the date 1208 in Arabic numerals. The lower medallion shows another seated elder with a book, inscribed Janab Mushtaq Ali. The sides of the box feature six additional oval medallions depicting various figures in Qajar-period dress within landscape settings, one of which is inscribed Morteza Ali Shah. These identified figures correspond to prominent masters and saints of the Ni’matullahi Sufi order. The sides of the inner drawer and the underside of the box are decorated with a continuous pattern of gold floral scrolls on a dark ground. The interior of the drawer is finished in black lacquer.

L: 21cm