A silver-inlaid brass penbox, Anatolia, probably Siirt, 13th century
Auction Closed
March 31, 12:40 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
of oblong form with straight edges, the lid with hinged section, made of sheet brass, engraved and inlaid with silver, the top of the lid featuring courtly musicians within scalloped frames against a ground of interlacing split-palmettes, the edges with two zoomorphic friezes, including birds and quadrupeds, the underside with an elegant design of entwining arabesques, interior plain with an old Sotheby's label 'I 81'
3.5 by 29 by 6.8cm.
Please note that the guarantee line for this lot should read Anatolia, probably Siirt and not Jazira.
Purchased at Sotheby's, circa 1980s.
Formerly in the collection of a diplomat.
Formerly in the collection of a diplomat.
inscriptions
‘Perpetual glory, grace and…'
The design on this penbox is particularly refined with courtly iconography featuring seated figures playing instruments and drinking on the lid. Along the edges, one can make out over one hundred creatures, most only showing their heads, some part of their bodies or wings, some with silver-inlay and others missing, but this represents a real tour de force of craftsmanship and originality.
This is a classic Jaziran piece characteristic of the group attributed by James Allan to Siirt from the second half of the thirteenth century. This is evident in the variety of decorative grounds in the cartouches (for example, the tight reticulated scrolls with no leaves seen in the hawk and goose/duck roundel (see J. Allan, Islamic Metalwork: the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, London, 1982, no. 8). Also, the loose trefoil scrolls in the background of the three main lobed cartouches (for example, see the Siirt dish in the Keir Collection, G. Fehérvári, Islamic Metalwork of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection, 1976, no. 125, plate 41a and colour plate F, p. 81). The paired musicians playing the flute, lute and tambourine are very similar to the cartouches on the Keir collection dish (op. cit. plate 41a). A further feature typical of the Siirt group is the foliate Kufic which compares with the 'kufesque' borders on Seljuq carpets from Anatolia (Allan 1982, pp.64-5). The asymmetrical arabesque on the base also have a strong Anatolian feel and can be paralleled in Seljuq carved stonework from eastern Turkey. The birds and other zoomorphic designs around the sides of the penbox are closely related to those on the Keir dish (Fehérvári 1976, colour plate F, facing p. 81).
The penbox became a key indicator of the status of its owner indicated by its shape and decoration. Such intricate ornamentation exemplifies the importance accorded to the pen in administrative and diplomatic contexts in thirteenth century Islam. Ibn Muqlah, whose treatise on the Arabic script has shaped the language as we know it today, emphasises how the knowledge of Allah and his word is transmitted through the pen (’allama bi-l-qalam) (H. Naji, Ibn Muqlah, Khattatan wa abidan wa insanan, Baghdad, 1991, p.114). Therefore, the preservation of the pen, and subsequently its case, is of extreme importance, a concept understood by al-Qalqashandi who stresses how “it is necessary for the scribe to do his utmost to adorn the pen case, to make it excellent and to look after it” (Allan 1982, p.92). The elegant decoration of this present penbox is evidently intended to adorn an item highly valued by its owner.
‘Perpetual glory, grace and…'
The design on this penbox is particularly refined with courtly iconography featuring seated figures playing instruments and drinking on the lid. Along the edges, one can make out over one hundred creatures, most only showing their heads, some part of their bodies or wings, some with silver-inlay and others missing, but this represents a real tour de force of craftsmanship and originality.
This is a classic Jaziran piece characteristic of the group attributed by James Allan to Siirt from the second half of the thirteenth century. This is evident in the variety of decorative grounds in the cartouches (for example, the tight reticulated scrolls with no leaves seen in the hawk and goose/duck roundel (see J. Allan, Islamic Metalwork: the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, London, 1982, no. 8). Also, the loose trefoil scrolls in the background of the three main lobed cartouches (for example, see the Siirt dish in the Keir Collection, G. Fehérvári, Islamic Metalwork of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection, 1976, no. 125, plate 41a and colour plate F, p. 81). The paired musicians playing the flute, lute and tambourine are very similar to the cartouches on the Keir collection dish (op. cit. plate 41a). A further feature typical of the Siirt group is the foliate Kufic which compares with the 'kufesque' borders on Seljuq carpets from Anatolia (Allan 1982, pp.64-5). The asymmetrical arabesque on the base also have a strong Anatolian feel and can be paralleled in Seljuq carved stonework from eastern Turkey. The birds and other zoomorphic designs around the sides of the penbox are closely related to those on the Keir dish (Fehérvári 1976, colour plate F, facing p. 81).
The penbox became a key indicator of the status of its owner indicated by its shape and decoration. Such intricate ornamentation exemplifies the importance accorded to the pen in administrative and diplomatic contexts in thirteenth century Islam. Ibn Muqlah, whose treatise on the Arabic script has shaped the language as we know it today, emphasises how the knowledge of Allah and his word is transmitted through the pen (’allama bi-l-qalam) (H. Naji, Ibn Muqlah, Khattatan wa abidan wa insanan, Baghdad, 1991, p.114). Therefore, the preservation of the pen, and subsequently its case, is of extreme importance, a concept understood by al-Qalqashandi who stresses how “it is necessary for the scribe to do his utmost to adorn the pen case, to make it excellent and to look after it” (Allan 1982, p.92). The elegant decoration of this present penbox is evidently intended to adorn an item highly valued by its owner.