Casket of drawers, wood with marquetry mosaic (katamkari), Iran (probably Tehran), Qajar period, 1800-50

Varnished wooden casket with marquetry mosaic (katamkari) veneer of mother of pearl, metal and stained ivory, and painted floral designs on a yellow ground across the feet. Inscriptions of ivory inlaid in wood are present on all four exterior sides. The interior of the casket, red painted, contains seven drawers also decorated with marquetry, and an open compartment above these with floral design on a yellow ground.

This object was purchased in Tehran in 1873, by Robert Murdoch Smith on behalf of the Museum. In his first bulk acquisition for the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A), Murdoch Smith had bought "a considerable collection" of over 100 examples of metalwork, ceramic, inlaid woodwork and textile from different local sources, including French diplomat Emile Charles Bernay and four art-dealers: Nasrullah Dellal, Abu'l-Hassan Dellal, Abdul-Husayn and Reza Kashi of Tehran. Many further acquisitions followed in the years 1873-1878 and 1883-1885, most extensively from the private collector Jules Richard.

This casket is said to have belonged to the mother of Nasir al-Din Shah, who sent it to the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1874 as an example of Iranian handicraft. The mosaic decoration was made with slices cut from a bundle of thin rods of different materials. The poem calls down God's blessing on the casket, which is described in glowing terms.

501:1 to 8-1874