From the fifteenth century onward, lacquer objects—including bookbindings, pen cases and boxes such as this one—gained popularity in Iran, peaking in the nineteenth century. Constructed of papier-mâché and sometimes wood, lacquer objects were decorated with small-scale paintings of popular motifs like floral patterns, birds, and royal scenes before a varnish was applied that protected the painting and added a pleasing amber glow. This box is decorated with beautifully painted animal scenes that hark back to earlier Persian manuscript illustrations and the lid depicts Sagittarius, the centaur archer, aiming a bow at his tail, which ends in a dragon head.