- Title
- Pen Box (qalamdan)
- Date Made
- 18th century
- Medium
- Ivory with brass and silver fittings
- Dimensions
- a) Pen Box: 2 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 3 in. (6.35 x 24.13 x 7.62 cm); b) Ivory Tray: 2 3/8 x 7 3/8 x 3/4 in. (6.03 x 18.73 x 1.91 cm); c) Silver and Brass Ink Well: 1 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (4.13 x 3.81 x 3.18 cm); d) Silver and Brass Ink Well: 1 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (4.13 x 3.81 x 3.18 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.86.190.3a-d
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Rectangular in form with a hinged and hasped lid, this ivory pen box is richly carved with low relief floral ornamentation. The horizontal panels on the top and sides are identical in composition with three roundels flanked at the ends by two half roundels. The floriated roundels feature a central open blossom encircled by trailing leaves and an outer concentric band of trailing leaves. Between the roundels, the interstices are filled with half-bouquets and inverted half-bouquets of blossoming poppy plants aligned on a common vertical axis. The top panel has a chamfered border enlivened with a scrolling vine. The basal border along the bottom features a row of pendent triangles with a pierced apex. The brass fittings may be later replacements. Two small attached loops at either end may have served to secure the contents with threaded cord or wire and a wax seal. The interior has two brass inkwells and a removable tray with dual compartments for storing pens, pencils, paper rollers, rulers, sharpeners, erasers, scissors, and/or stationary. An ivory pen box with almost identical floral decoration is in the National Museum, New Delhi (57.92/10).
Ornate pen boxes and writing sets were essential correspondence accouterments of the nobility and wealthy, as well as European residents and travelers in South Asia during the 18th–19th centuries.
