Harvard Art Museums > 2002.50.109: Pen Box with Battle and Hunting Scenes Artists' Tools Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Pen Box with Battle and Hunting Scenes , 2002.50.109,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/147860. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2002.50.109 Title Pen Box with Battle and Hunting Scenes Classification Artists' Tools Work Type pen box Date 1918-1919 Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Qajar period Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/147860 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque and semi-opaque watercolor on prepared pasteboard under shellac varnish Dimensions 4 x 22.7 x 3.6 cm (1 9/16 x 8 15/16 x 1 7/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: Asad-Allah Dizfuli Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Hadji Baba Rabbi House of Antiquities, Teheran, 1973], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1973-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art Accession Year 2002 Object Number 2002.50.109 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description On its upper surface, this late example of a Qajar lacquer pen case, signed by Asad-Allah Dizfuli and dated 1337 H. (1918-1919), displays a scene of epic battle. Densely packed cavalry troops flank groups of dueling warriors in the foreground, and a clustered mass of stationary cavalry stands at the farthest remove from the action. The expansive scope of the combat is conveyed by receding lines of cavalry stretching toward the horizon, resembling in effect the infinite reflections of a room of mirrors. Without any clear direction of movement or indication of a dominant group that might leave the field victorious, the scene conveys the melee of battle as a series of skirmishes between individuals, some victorious over their foes, others less fortunate. Observing men falling from their horses and awaiting their final dispatch, the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the decapitated heads of victims who have already met death, an image that recalls the longstanding trope from Persian historical sources of battlefields littered with heads like balls on polo fields. The sides and base of the pen box continue the theme of martial prowess, though here men mounted on horses and armed with swords, lances, and firearms hunt deer and a lion for sport. The artist unifies these compositionally varied scenes by setting them in developed landscapes of receding planes of grass and other vegetation, with horizons given over to trees and small buildings, each one different from the next, depicted in perspective. Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 201358 Asad Allah Dizfuli Pen box with battle and hunting scenes Iran, Qajar period, dated 1337 (1918–19) Opaque and semi-opaque watercolor on prepared pasteboard under shellac varnish 4 × 22.7 × 3.6 cm (1 9/16 × 8 15/16 × 1 7/16 in.) 2002.50.109 On its upper surface, this late example of a Qajar lacquer pen case, signed by Asad Allah Dizfuli, displays a scene of epic battle. Densely packed cavalry troops flank groups of dueling warriors in the foreground, and a clustered mass of stationary cavalry stands at the farthest remove from the action. The expansive scope of the combat is conveyed by receding lines of cavalry stretching toward the horizon, resembling in effect the infinite reflections of a room of mirrors. Without any clear direction of movement or indication of a dominant group that might leave the field victorious, the scene conveys the melee of battle as a series of skirmishes between individuals, some victorious over their foes, others less fortunate. Observing men falling from their horses and awaiting their final dispatch, the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the decapitated heads of victims who have already met death, an image that recalls the longstanding trope from Persian historical sources of battlefields littered with heads like balls on polo fields. The sides and base of the pen box continue the theme of martial prowess, though here men mounted on horses and armed with swords, lances, and firearms hunt deer and a lion for sport. The artist unifies these compositionally varied scenes by setting them in developed landscapes of receding planes of grass and other vegetation, with horizons given over to trees and small buildings, each one different from the next, depicted in perspective. David J. Roxburgh Publication History Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), p. 210, cat. 58, ill. Exhibition History The Sport of Kings: Art of the Hunt in Iran and India, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/22/2005 - 06/26/2005 In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2013 - 06/01/2013 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
