At a glance, this impressive object immediately recalls the treasured boxes made for the pious endowments of medieval Cairo to hold multi-volume manuscripts of the Qur'an. Yet, in actuality, this box belongs to a much later period of production in the nineteenth century, which witnessed the revival of medieval media and designs from the reign of the Mamluk dynasty (1250-1517). This anachronistic box incorporates slightly different materials than its historical antecedent. While the fourteenth-century Mamluk box on which this object was based was constructed from brass plating over wood with gold and silver inlay, this version is made of bronze with brass inlay and precious stones. Replicating the ornament of its earlier model, the sides feature Qur'anic inscriptions in kufic and thuluth script on vegetal grounds, as well as a calligraphic medallion at the top of the lid.

Mamluk rule over Egypt and Syria endured for three centuries until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. During this time of cultural efflorescence, Mamluk sultans commissioned grand projects and encouraged the production of exquisite objects across media, thus affirming Cairo’s place as a prosperous cosmopolitan hub. The memory of this era loomed large during the mid-nineteenth century and inspired an artistic style known as Mamluk revival, sometimes also called the “Arab style” during this period. Production of revival works largely emanated from Cairo and Damascus; there was also a school in Jerusalem producing more original works. This Qur'an box exemplifies a design recreated at the workshop of Giuseppe Parvis (d. 1909), the Italian cabinetmaker who went on to become the Orientalist designer of the Egyptian Khedive Isma‘il (d. 1895).

The movement in Egypt began with nineteenth-century efforts to preserve cultural heritage sites, which eventually led to the creation of Dar al-Athar al-Arabiya (later the Museum of Islamic Art) and subsequently inspired a rediscovery of an indigenous legacy. Artisans responded to these events by re-envisioning the Mamluk repertoire as a nationalistic aesthetic in architecture and objects. These anachronistic objects were tailored to a wide-range of collectors, especially Europeans. Once original artifacts were collected, craftsmen created modern interpretations of them with techniques, like inlaid metalwork, which they applied to historical prototypes or European-inspired hybrid works. After initially striking the interest of collectors and museums, the style garnered international renown thanks to world fairs, showrooms, as well as diplomatic gifts.