Harvard Art Museums > 2014.332: Pen Box with Flowers, Birds, and Butterflies 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, Birds, and Butterflies (Muhammad Husayn Shirazi) , 2014.332,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 26, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/351818. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2014.332 People Muhammad Husayn Shirazi Title Pen Box with Flowers, Birds, and Butterflies Classification Artists' Tools Work Type pen box Date c. 1850-1875 Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Qajar period Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/351818 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque watercolor, gold-colored pigments, and lacquer on pasteboard Dimensions 3.8 × 3.8 × 21.7 cm (1 1/2 × 1 1/2 × 8 9/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: میرزا اشرف افتخارِ زَمَن آسمانِ جلال و جاه و کرم باد رخشنده کوکبِ بختش تا بُود عرش و فرش و لوح و قلم بنده حسین ابن علی Mirza Ashraf, the pride of the ages, The sky of glory, grandeur, and generosity. May the star of his fortune be shining, As long as there exists heaven and earth, and the tablet and pen (of divine decrees). 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 2014.332 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 Cover and sliding compartment with rounded ends. The top is decorated in horizontal format with birds and flowers on a black ground. On the sides, gold scrollwork frames panels with small-scale European figures on horseback and seated in carriages in riverine landscapes. These are flanked by medallions with three-quarter length portraits of European men and women. 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), p. 141, cat. 126 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
