Large Qajar Lacquer Casket, Persia, 19th century

large rectangular body, shallow feet, stepped lid, flat top with convex shoulders, birds and flowers to all surfaces, including detailed irises, roses, hazelnuts and vines, lid and sides with sparkling red ground, shoulder with black, and interior with orange ground, interior of lid with a figural scene of young men and maidens picnicking in Mughal costume set in a Qajar palace garden

The charming scene on the interior of this casket recalls the palace garden depicted in an oil painting of the early nineteenth century sold through these rooms 12 October 2004, lot 25. The picnic in the foreground with the arcaded wings and central pavilion surrounded by the ubiquitous Himalayan Birch is an almost identical idealised scene, only with the addition of lovers, and musicians.