Harvard Art Museums > 2014.304: Pen Box with Flowers and Birds 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 Flowers and Birds (`Ali Ashraf) , 2014.304,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/351871. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2014.304 People `Ali Ashraf Title Pen Box with Flowers and Birds Classification Artists' Tools Work Type pen box Date 1721-1722 Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Safavid period Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/351871 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, copper particles, and lacquer over brass layer on pasteboard Dimensions 4.6 × 6.1 × 27.1 cm (1 13/16 × 2 3/8 × 10 11/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: زبعد محمد علي اشرف است ۱۱۳۴ After Muhammad, `Ali is the noblest, 1721-22 Provenance Recorded Ownership History Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2014. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of A. Soudavar in memory of his mother Ezzat-Malek Soudavar Accession Year 2014 Object Number 2014.304 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 Rectangular pen box with lid. The top of the lid is decorated in a horizontal format. The top and sides are painted with a dense decoration of birds and flowers on black ground. The inside of the lid features a continuous tableau with a monkey, a falcon, various fruits, a grape vine, and a ewer of wine. Publication History Massumeh Farhad and Mary McWilliams, ed., A Collector’s Passion: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer, Harvard Art Museums and Freer/Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution (Cambridge, MA/Washington, D.C., 2017), pp. 40-41, figs. 4a-b; pp. 42, 44-45, fig. 11a; p. 116, cat. 49 Katherine Eremin and Claire Grech, Materials and Techniques of Persian Laquerwork, 2017, Figures 4a/4b, Page 41; Figure 11a, Page 44-45 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
