Box
1850-76 (made)
| Place of origin |
The fine openwork patterning can be found on a variety of Iranian wood objects, including spoons, the handles of dervish bowls, boxes, and Qu'ran 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.
The subtle bulbous shape of this box suggests that it was made to hold an object of similar shape, such as a small musical instrument perhaps.
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.
The subtle bulbous shape of this box suggests that it was made to hold an object of similar shape, such as a small musical instrument perhaps.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved wood with painted decorations |
| Brief description | Wooden box with pierced decoration, Iran (Abadeh), Qajar period, 1850-76 |
| Physical description | Wooden box made of pearwood, carved entirely in a pierced or open work pattern of dense, interlacing scrollwork. The edges of the box are painted red and green, with vertical ribbed panels of polychrome flowers against a yellow background one end of the box. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | The object was acquired by the Museum in 1876 for £3. |
| Summary | The fine openwork patterning can be found on a variety of Iranian wood objects, including spoons, the handles of dervish bowls, boxes, and Qu'ran 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. The subtle bulbous shape of this box suggests that it was made to hold an object of similar shape, such as a small musical instrument perhaps. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 2409-1876 |
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| Record created | July 29, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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