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Pen Box (Qalamdan)

1850-1880 (made)
Place of origin

The primary function of a pen box (qalamdan) was as a writing implement - made of papier mache, wood or other materials, including precious metals – 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 qat’zan (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 box’s 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.

Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Pen Case
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Lacquered and painted papier-mache
Brief description
Penbox, painted and lacquered pasteboard, Iran (probably Isfahan), Qajar period, 1850-1880
Physical description
Oblong shaped pen box with rounded ends, made of lacquered paste-board. Around the side is a continual frieze of oval medallions, each depicting a different seated dervish or Sufi pir, with an accompanying caption in Persian.
Dimensions
  • Length: 23.6cm
  • Width: 4cm
Style
Gallery label
(5 June 2000)
The Sufis (sometimes called dervishes) depicted on this fine monochrome penbox belong to various different orders which coexisted in the Muslim world. The Qalandars, for example, wandered from town to town carrying an alms bowl (like those shown in this case) and an axe for protection.

PENBOX - SUFI SAGES
Iran, 19th century
Papier mache
850-1889
Object history
Bought Richard Collection, £1.13s.4d.
Summary
The primary function of a pen box (qalamdan) was as a writing implement - made of papier mache, wood or other materials, including precious metals – 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 qat’zan (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 box’s 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.
Bibliographic reference
Nasser Khalili, B.W. Robinson, and Tim Stanley, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands (London: The Nour Foundation, 1997)
Collection
Accession number
850:1, 2-1889

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Record createdFebruary 15, 2001
Record URL
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