Writing Box
1280s (made), 1302-1303 (made)
| Place of origin |
The lid of this pen box carries the name and titles of Sultan Dawud of Yemen. He was a member of the Rasulid dynasty, which had close connections with the Mamluk sultans of Cairo. They may have sent the box as a gift.
The box bears the Rasulid badge of a five-petalled rosette, which has been inlaid over an earlier device of an eagle with outstretched wings. This later work took place either in Yemen or Egypt.
Metalworkers often transformed objects made from brass by adding sophisticated inlaid surface ornament. For larger motifs, they chiselled out small areas of brass and filled them with thin sheets of silver, gold and copper. They added detail by chasing the surface of the softer metals created contrast with a black filler, as on this piece.
The box bears the Rasulid badge of a five-petalled rosette, which has been inlaid over an earlier device of an eagle with outstretched wings. This later work took place either in Yemen or Egypt.
Metalworkers often transformed objects made from brass by adding sophisticated inlaid surface ornament. For larger motifs, they chiselled out small areas of brass and filled them with thin sheets of silver, gold and copper. They added detail by chasing the surface of the softer metals created contrast with a black filler, as on this piece.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Brass inlaid with gold and silver and a black compound |
| Brief description | Rectangular writing box, brass, inlaid with silver, gold and a black material, made, probably in Cairo, for Sultan Da'ud of Yemen (r. 1296–1321) and dated AH 702, equivalent to AD 1302–3, with internal elements from an earlier inlaid brass writing box, attributed to the 1280s, as well as other parts of a much later date, including two custom-made inkwells and a sand box, the hinges and the fastening also of a much later date. |
| Physical description | Rectangular writing box, brass, raised from sheet, engraved and inlaid with gold and silver and a black compound, the silver chased with additional details. The decoration includes repeated use of the large rosette that was the heraldic device of the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen, the name and titles of Sultan Da'ud (r. 1296-1321), and the date 702 in the Muslim calendar, equivalent to 1302–3. Interior elements were re-used from an earlier writing box made for the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun (r. 1279–1290) or a member of his family, probably in the 1280s. The interior was reconfigured at a much later date, when two custom-made inkwells and a sand box were inserted. The hinges and the fastening device (a staple and a hasp) are also of a later date. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Provenance Purchased in Istanbul in 1897 from Mrs Alice Whitaker, daughter and heir of William Henry Wrench (1836-96). Wrench was British consul in the city when he died, and he had formed a significant collection of Ottoman and Iranian objects while in the consular service. For images of how Wrench displayed his collection in his home in the Pera (Beyoğlu) district of the city, see V&A: PH.331 to 334-1892. |
| Summary | The lid of this pen box carries the name and titles of Sultan Dawud of Yemen. He was a member of the Rasulid dynasty, which had close connections with the Mamluk sultans of Cairo. They may have sent the box as a gift. The box bears the Rasulid badge of a five-petalled rosette, which has been inlaid over an earlier device of an eagle with outstretched wings. This later work took place either in Yemen or Egypt. Metalworkers often transformed objects made from brass by adding sophisticated inlaid surface ornament. For larger motifs, they chiselled out small areas of brass and filled them with thin sheets of silver, gold and copper. They added detail by chasing the surface of the softer metals created contrast with a black filler, as on this piece. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 370-1897 |
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| Record created | January 13, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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